Heart of Darkness
by Arigatomina
Summary: Yaoi, GWIYYYH crossover, GWSM fusion. Seq to 'Without the Moon.' Two new students drag the GW gang into a feudal world where demons roam and their powers are pushed to the limit.
1. Intrigue

Author's Notes: This is a sort of 'sequel' to my old GW fic, 'Without the Moon.' It's still a fusion with Sailormoon - GW characters with their 'talents'. But I don't think you'd need to have read the other one to follow this one. For those who *have* read it, this one will have less 'fighting' and a deeper (twisted) plot - with more of an adult storyline. It's also, as of right now, a crossover with YYH and Inuyasha. The 'home' cast remains GW, but there will be focus on the other anime characters as well. For YYH, this is an Alternate Universe fic, for IY it takes place shortly after they meet Miroku and is a TWT thereafter. Fair warning - I expect to develop the shonen ai pairings (1x2, 3x4) that I started in the first fic, as well as the new ones, so this one will have more explicit content.  
  
P.S. - If you recognize the title from a certain famous book about a certain jungle and a certain insane man, good for you. I stole it. ^.~  
  
Category: Anime, Gundam Wing fusion with Sailormoon, Gundam Wing/Yu Yu Hakusho/Inuyasha crossover, Yaoi  
  
Warnings: will contain lime content, violence, angst, sap, humor, and anything else I throw in  
  
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, Inuyasha/Miroku, and the canon R+1, Hilde+2, Kagome+Inuyasha  
  
Author: Arigatomina  
  
Email: arigatoumina@hotmail.com  
  
Website/Complete Archive: http://www.geocities.com/arigatomina  
  
Heart of Darkness  
  
Part 1: Intrigue  
  
If Duo had made a buzz on his first day at the school, it was a murmur compared to this. Sure, he'd looked a little strange with his long braid of hair that reached past his hips, but he'd been nondescript aside from that, and rather quiet. In fact, he'd been as well behaved as possible considering his penchant to ramble off to anyone willing to listen. He'd gotten his share of looks, most admiring from the female students, but nothing to the point of making a splash. This was almost ridiculous. The moment the redhead stepped into the hall, girls were flocking around him. Duo barely caught a glimpse of a tall red-haired figure before the person was engulfed.  
  
"Shallow," Duo said. He sniffed at the crowd of chittering feminine voices and raised an eyebrow at the boy beside him. Quatre smiled.  
  
"He must be very interesting for them to be so bold," Quatre said. The blonde boy had a sparkle in his eyes that denied the calm way he passed off the behavior. And he couldn't quite get rid of the smile that played over his lips. "I've never seen them that excited."  
  
"Yeah, well I guess they don't see many redheads around here." Duo shrugged and looked for a good angle to push their way through the throng blocking the hall. A discreet cough near him caught his attention, making him turn. A faint bashful expression immediately passed over his face. "Hi there, Cathy."  
  
"What was that about redheads?" Dorothy asked. The girl raised a dark eyebrow and flicked her pale white-blonde hair back over a shoulder. "Cathy's been here for years."  
  
"She's a girl," Duo said. "I meant guys with red hair."  
  
"I doubt it's his hair that set them off," Catherine said. Her voice was calm enough, though she did eye the crowd of girls with a little more distaste than usual. "Rumor has it he's been spotted a few times around town. They're excited because he's actually going to school here."  
  
Dorothy nodded, looking at Catherine with a wry smirk. "Even Relena took notice of him." The longhaired boy beside her straightened at that, and she gave a quiet laugh. "Don't get your hopes up, though. She just pays attention to gossip. I really doubt she'd forget Heero that quickly."  
  
Duo sniffed again, his face wrinkling into a little scowl. Dorothy was probably right. After all, if seeing Heero kiss him right in front of her wasn't enough to drive the girl off, then nothing would be. But thinking of her persistence reminded him of his own problems. He was no closer to understanding Heero than he'd been two weeks ago, when the rough boy pushed him against the wall of Wufei's temple and kissed him senseless. It had sure looked like the beginning of a relationship to him, but so far it was an isolated incident. Heero didn't exactly ignore him, but he definitely hadn't invited him to meet in private to so much as talk about 'them.' Duo was starting to wonder if there even was a 'them' to talk about.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about," Quatre said softly. He could see the torment scrawled over Duo's face, and he put a light hand on his shoulder. "Heero has never been interested in Relena."  
  
"Yeah, I know." Duo gave a weak smile to the blonde boy and did his best to appear cool about the entire thing. It must have worked because Quatre turned to look at the people blocking their way. He stared at his friend's profile for a long moment before looking away as well. Quatre was sweet and caring, but the simple fact was that he didn't have the same problems Duo did. Yes, Heero had kissed him only after Trowa did the exact thing to Quatre. But Trowa was definitely inviting a relationship when he did it. The two lovebirds were together almost all the time. Then again, they had been since he'd met them, so that might not be a sign of anything. Still, Quatre was far too happy looking. If he had the sort of doubts Duo did, then he wouldn't look like that.  
  
"Why are you scowling?"  
  
Duo blinked in surprise, his blue-violet eyes widening. The boy might as well have pinched him. "Wufei, don't do that."  
  
The dark-eyed Chinese boy gave him a bland stare before shrugging. "I had to raise my voice to be heard over that."  
  
There was no need to follow his friend's nod, the voices were still chittering merrily. Quatre nodded a greeting to Wufei before giving a little sigh. "Do you think they'll make way for us if we try to go by them?" he asked.  
  
"They'd better," Dorothy said sharply. "Classes start in eight minutes."  
  
"Plenty of time," Duo said. He gave a dramatic sigh and promptly sagged on a sputtering Wufei. "In that case I'll just take a little nap while we wait."  
  
Turning red at the pretty boy lounging with an arm over his shoulders, Wufei growled. "I am not a post. Don't lean on me."  
  
"Can't help it," Duo sniffled. He was mostly behind his friend, so it was simple to lay his head on Wufei's shoulder. "I worked late last night. If we're going to stand here, I might as well rest myself."  
  
"Not on me!"  
  
Dorothy snickered. She stepped to Duo and tapped a finger on the boy's shoulder. "As much as I enjoy seeing Wufei with his feathers ruffled, I don't think it's a good idea to take your nap there." Wide eyes turned to her and she smirked, tilting her head to the side and dropping her voice. "Heero doesn't look like he's enjoying the view. Did you know his left eyebrow twitches when he's jealous?"  
  
Duo flushed, not quite daring to follow her nod to where he was sure Heero would be standing. "I hadn't noticed," he muttered quietly. With a fake yawn, he quickly straightened. "Well, if we're not going to nap, we might as well start pushing our way through that crowd." He turned as if to include Quatre in the statement and did a doubletake. "Heero! Didn't see you there. Good morning."  
  
The mussy-haired Japanese boy had a blatant scowl over his face and didn't respond to the greeting. Dorothy smiled at him, tilting her head to the side. "Did you have a bad sleep?" she prodded. The boy snorted, barely giving her a glance. With an apologetic shrug to Duo, she looked back to the girls blocking the way. She was just in time to see something that had her grinning. "There's a brave one."  
  
Hiding his disappointment at Heero's cold reception of him, Duo turned to see what she was talking about. And he smirked as well. A short boy was trying to push his way through the throng and not having much success. He was a good head smaller than the girls in front of him and Duo was pretty sure they didn't even know he was there. "Heh, sad. But he has the right idea. Let's get through them before Poe has our heads for being late."  
  
"You should have thought of that before you took a nap on me," Wufei said. He shot Duo a light glare but ended up rolling his eyes when the boy gave him a hurt look.  
  
"What is this? Be mean to Duo day?" Not getting a response to his pout, Duo frowned. "Whatever. Let's just get to class." He didn't wait to see if the others were following. Once he got to within a few steps of the closest girls, he could hear the voices better. It sounded like a mass 'introduction' session or something. If he hadn't been in a cranky mood thanks to Heero, he might have laughed.  
  
"Idiot females."  
  
The low growl made Duo pause, and he raised an eyebrow at the short male he'd spotted before. The voice was much deeper than anything he'd have expected from someone who barely reached his shoulders, considering Duo wasn't that tall himself. But the boy was completely new to him. "First day?" he asked. Red eyes turned up to him and he blinked quickly. The color wasn't the only thing odd, the boy's eyes were wide and almost catlike, with very small red irises.  
  
"Hn."  
  
He'd been staring. Duo winced, his hand lifting to brush at his neck. "I don't think I've seen you before," he said. "Sorry if I stared a little." The boy turned away without a word, barely sparing him a glance. It was such a rude thing that it immediately reminded him of Heero. Duo glared. Maybe it really was be mean to Duo day - even strangers were treating him like crap. The boy stepped away from him, and Duo watched him stop behind the girls. He gave a dark smirk and vowed to enjoy watching the boy get ignored.  
  
"Move."  
  
One word, very sharp and deep, and the girl closest to him jumped around. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You're in my way."  
  
"Who do you think you are?" the girl asked. Her blue eyes darkened in annoyance and she gave the boy a disdainful look, taking in his odd, spiky black hair and small stature. "New students should be more respectful."  
  
"We are blocking the hall," the girl beside her said. Her voice was much softer, not at all hostile, and sounded more than a little sheepish. She looked back and abruptly blushed when she caught sight of Duo. "Good morning, Duo."  
  
"Hilde." It was a little awkward now that the girl knew he was interested in Heero, but Duo still liked her. She was just good-natured. Relena on the other hand... Duo couldn't help but smirk as he watched the blonde girl glare down at the rude boy. As much as he'd been annoyed at the stranger, he couldn't help but enjoy the fact that he was being even ruder to Miss Priss. Nice.  
  
"Move or I'll move you."  
  
While delivered in the same seemingly calm voice, that made Duo's eyes widen. A threat? He was threatening Relena? Unheard of. Remarkable. And very very foolish. Oh, this wouldn't be good.  
  
"How dare you?!" Relena's face darked in embarrassed anger and she straightened, glaring down at the shorter teen. "Do you have any idea who I am? No one-"  
  
"Excuse me," a soft voice cut in. "Is there a problem here?"  
  
Relena turned, her mouth twisted to give a scathing reply, and stopped cold. Hilde's eyes widened, a faint blush tinting her cheeks pink. And Duo nearly died trying to keep from laughing at the two of them. The guy was good looking, sure, with that wavy red hair falling nearly to his waist, and those big green eyes. He looked downright exotic. But to stop Relena cold? No way was he *that* cute. The girls definitely thought so, though. That tight crowd had parted like water for him, and Duo nearly snickered at the adoring looks most of them were wearing. Pathetic.  
  
Relena caught herself much quicker than Hilde. She had Heero, so there was no need to give into the gorgeous student. Besides, now was her chance to actually meet the boy all the girls had been talking about. That was, after all, what she did to retain her status at the school. "Hello," she said, her voice only a bit breathless. "My name is Relena Peacecraft, and it's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Kurama Minamino," the tall redhead said. His voice was a calm, light tenor, and he gave a half nod to Relena. That simple movement made a few of the girls behind him sigh, and Duo couldn't hold in his snicker. Green eyes snapped up to look at him. "And you are?"  
  
A flicker of dislike passed over Relena's face and she sniffed. "That's just Duo."  
  
"Duo Maxwell," Hilde supplied. Her voice was softer than normal, and she couldn't help but be torn between looking at Duo and Kurama. In the end, she gave the redhead a weak smile. "I'm Hilde-"  
  
"Class is about to start."  
  
That deep voice made Hilde jump a little, and Relena bristled. Remembering the insult he'd given her, she glared down at the rude boy. "And who are you?" she asked, her voice biting. He didn't so much as look up at her.  
  
"This is Hiei," Kurama said. He gave a warm smile when Relena looked stricken at his familiar tone. "A very close friend of mine."  
  
"Oh." The blonde girl's mouth closed abruptly, a slight sickly color coming to her face. There was no way she could put the rude teen in his place if he were friends with *him*.   
  
"Yes, and Hiei is quite right. We should be getting to class." With a nod to Duo and Hilde, the polite redhead turned away. The black-haired boy snorted at Relena's expression before joining him.  
  
The 'ocean' of girls parted again, and Duo waited until the two were out of earshot before laughing. "Wow. Relena, you looked just like you'd shoved your entire leg down your throat."  
  
"Oh, be quiet," Relena snapped. An angry blush swamped her cheeks and she might have added to that if she hadn't looked past Duo. Her expression cleared as quickly as if she'd flicked a switch. "Heero! When did you get here?"  
  
"Not now," Dorothy smirked. "We have to go to class as well. Besides, you were far too interested in the new boy to notice that we've been standing here the entire time." Her friend paled at that, and she shook her head when Relena sent a worried look at Heero. It just didn't register. Ever. Heero would probably have to have sex right in front of her before she'd realize he just was not interested. Of course he wasn't jealous that Relena was talking to someone else. If anything, he looked like he was still angry with Duo. Definitely the jealous type, just not jealous over Relena.  
  
"I was just welcoming him to the school," Relena said. She was looking at Heero, worry blatant on her face. The Japanese boy looked right through her.  
  
"Don't stand there," Heero said, his voice directed at Duo. He gave the boy a light touch on the shoulder before passing him. "Class."  
  
Duo blinked in surprise at the nice gesture. He'd never understand him. Heero looked angry, like usual, but now he wasn't sure. Either way, he was right. With a bright smile, he waved at Hilde. "He's right. We'd better get going. I'll see you guys at lunch."  
  
"You..." Wufei glared, waiting until the girls were gone before growling at Duo. "You invited them again! Must they sit with us every single day?!"  
  
"Oh, don't be like that," Duo smiled. "They aren't all that bad. Besides, you know Relena would invite herself if I didn't, so it doesn't matter." The boy glowered at him, but he didn't mind. Duo turned to smile at Quatre. "See you later." The two moved to go to their own class and he was in a much brighter mood when he resumed his following of Heero. If nothing else, that little fiasco had given him a nice distraction. And Heero had touched him. Yeah, he was a little pathetic himself. He just couldn't help it. The boy had given him the kiss of his life and barely brushed hands with him since. Of course he'd get a spirit boost from a little shoulder touching. With Heero, that seemed to be a big deal.  
  
Duo was set to give a careless smile to his would-be boyfriend, but he ended up stopping in his tracks once he entered the classroom. Those two new students were in his class, and while the girls weren't crowded around the redhead, they were certainly staring at him. What was worse, the two were sitting in the seats in front of Heero. In his seat. Duo frowned as he moved to them. He'd just have to tell them about their mistake. The only problem was that the rude black-haired one was sitting in his chair and he was sure it would be easier getting the polite redhead to relocate. "Hi again," Duo said, nodding to Kurama first.  
  
"Duo," the redhead smiled. "So you're in this class as well."  
  
"Yeah," Duo said. He sent a look at the red-eyed boy and felt his smile tighten. Being rude to Relena was something he didn't mind, but the guy wasn't going to act like that around him, especially when he was sitting in his seat. "You know, that's my-"  
  
"Sit here," Heero said. His dark blue eyes didn't give anything away, but he waved a hand at the empty seat beside him. The other students still left empty chairs all around the boy as if he were some scary thug. Right now that seemed to be coming in handy. Duo stared for a moment before giving a bright smile.  
  
Sitting beside Heero would be much nicer than sitting in front of him. Duo nodded and actually flashed Hiei a smile as well. "Nevermind." With lighter spirits than ever, he sat beside Heero. It wasn't just a nice change, it was great. Now he could sneak glances at him all through class without having to turn around. Yep, it was a great change.  
  
Heero gave a look out of the corner of his eye and blinked at Duo's expression. The boy suddenly reminded him of Wing when he gave the cat an extra helping of tuna. It was a little unnerving how much he liked even that smirk. All it took was a simple smile and the boy's violet eyes lit up until he wanted to stare at them for hours. The thought made him scowl at his desk again. Maybe having Duo beside him wasn't such a good idea after all. He was already irritated enough just being attracted to him. Having him so close was bound to be a horrid distraction. And he didn't need anything extra to make him think about Duo. He did that even when the boy was no where in sight.  
  
His glare flicked briefly to the dark-haired boy sitting in front of him, but he couldn't make himself tell him to sit somewhere else. They'd introduced themselves earlier - at least, Kurama had introduced them - and asked if the seats were taken. Heero had told them they weren't. It was his idea to have Duo sitting beside him, so he had no one to blame but himself. That was usual. Since he'd kissed the boy he seemed to be stuck on driving himself crazy about it. He wanted more, and then he didn't want more. He didn't want to be attached to Duo, the very idea made him shiver. He'd go insane if he opened himself up to him, he was sure of it. But he wanted him so much it ate at him. Just seeing Duo tease Wufei earlier had made him want to growl at his friend. He was already feeling possessive and like he had no self-control. He could just imagine how much worse that would be if he actually tried to make a relationship with Duo. So he wasn't going to.  
  
And that was a direct contradiction to what he'd just done by fixing things so the boy was now sitting right where his traitorous eyes could sneak peaks at him all through class. Yes, he was already driving himself crazy. He didn't need Duo to help him with that.   
  
Determined to look at anything but Duo, Heero set his eyes forward. And he raised an eyebrow when he noticed the two students in front of him. They were both looking over to the right side of the classroom. Following their gazes, he frowned at the girls sitting there. They were whispering to each other, but soft giggles reached him more than whatever words they were saying. One of them, the black-haired girl seated in the middle, glanced over and blushed. She was obviously the receptor of their looks. Heero sniffed. He couldn't remember her name, and he didn't see anything special about her. It figured. A guy comes into the school with all the girls fawning over him - including Relena - and he settled for someone else. Heero should have known better than to get his hopes up. No one was going to just show up and take the Peacecraft girl off his arm for him.  
  
Duo had already started watching Heero from the side, but he was distracted when their teacher walked in. Ms. Poe was a nice enough woman, happy to help those who had problems in her class. But she was also a stickler for the rules. He could still remember his first day very well. He'd been on his best behavior, not wanting to get on her bad side right from the start. Now he found himself looking at the new boys and wondering if the rude one would show as much effort when they introduced themselves to their new teacher. But Ms. Poe glanced around the classroom and started her lecture without so much as a look at the two teens. Quite a few people turned to stare openly at that strange behavior.  
  
Heero was frowning beside him, and Duo looked at Ms Poe for a long moment in confusion. It might have been that she'd simple failed to notice the new students. But considering they were sitting in the formerly empty part of the classroom - those seats around Heero - her gaze should have been drawn right to them. It wasn't just odd, it was weird. And the two new students definitely noticed the slight. Duo could see Kurama glancing around at the light whispers, and he felt a wash of sympathy. He was sure Ms Poe hadn't ignored them on purpose, she just wasn't the sort of person to do such a thing. But being new, Kurama had no way of knowing that. The redhead turned to look at his short friend and Hiei shrugged. For a moment, Duo wondered how the boy felt now that someone else was being rude to him, but he stopped himself. This wasn't just someone, it was a teacher. There wasn't much excuse for a teacher to behave that way. Not sure whether to feel sorry for the two of them, or to be worried about Ms. Poe, Duo turned to stare at his teacher. She looked normal enough, she was just acting like the two new students were regular attendees to her lessens. Strange.  
  
* * *  
  
By lunch time the school was a-buzz with talk about the new students. Evidently, Ms. Poe wasn't the only teacher to ignore their presence. A rumor had it the two were a special case that the professors all knew about. One or two people were even saying that Kurama was the son of a diplomat and that the teachers were trying not to bring added attention to the boy. Duo wasn't buying any of it. The fact was, the teachers were being weird and he'd seen Kurama during their first class together. The redhead had been as surprised by the lack of attention as the rest of them. If it were some conspiracy, surely he'd have known about it.  
  
Duo had decided to invite the two to the table he shared with his friends after that first, strange class. Now he waited a few feet away, shaking his head as he watched Kurama turn down a little cluster of blushing girls. It wasn't just the teachers behaving oddly, the female students acted like he was a rock star or something. The two finally detached from the girls, and Duo followed them to the lunch line. Kurama was talking quietly to his friend.  
  
"You could have been a little more discrete," Kurama said. His tone was light, a small smile belying the reproach.  
  
"Ch'. It was your idea."  
  
"I never said to-" Hiei turned sharply, and Kurama cut off his words, following his gaze to Duo. "Oh, hello again. Duo, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah," Duo nodded. "I thought I'd invite you two to eat lunch with me and some friends of mine."  
  
"That's nice of you," Kurama said. "We'd be happy to."  
  
Hiei was staring up at the redhead as if he'd just volunteered him for janitorial labor, but Kurama's smile seemed genuine. Duo shrugged. "It's no problem, really. We have that table pretty much to ourselves, so there's plenty of room."  
  
And there was more than enough room when the three moved over to the table. Only the look Heero gave him wasn't exactly inviting. Duo flashed a smile in return, waving a hand to his new friends. "Guys, these are Kurama and Hiei."  
  
Wufei looked the two over for a moment before sniffing and scowling at Duo. "What? It wasn't bad enough you had to invite the girls? You'll have every female in the school trying to sit with us." He glanced past the three and glared at the many looks they were getting. Just as he'd warned, most of them were female. The last thing he needed was for that mess in the hall to repeat itself at his table.   
  
Duo rolled his eyes. "Don't be like that." He sent a quick smile to Kurama, noting the way the boy was raising an eyebrow at him. "Wufei has a thing about girls. But you're probably safer at our table than anywhere. The only girls who come over here are-"  
  
"Us." Dorothy smirked, her hands on her hips. She winked at Wufei, who was immediately scowling at her. "We didn't get a chance to meet earlier, but you did meet Relena and Hilde."  
  
"Yes," Kurama said. "It was a little hectic this morning."  
  
That was about the most diplomatic way to put it, as far as Catherine could tell. She actually managed a smile for the redhead when they introduced themselves. But once they were all seated, her gaze moved to Quatre. "Where's Trowa? He wasn't with you this morning. Is he here today?"  
  
"Oh. He had something to do this morning, so he said he'd be late. But he's here. I saw him earlier." Quatre turned to look over the crowded lunch room and gave a bright smile when the boy appeared, almost on command. "There he is."   
  
It didn't take a moment for Trowa to join them, and another minute to introduce him to the new students. That done, they settled in to eat while Relena played interrogator to the new boys, specifically Kurama. Heero seemed to settle some now that he could see a benefit to having the strangers join them. At least she wasn't making his food taste sour. And Wufei was sullenly ignoring everyone, probably pretending the girls weren't there.  
  
"Did you just move here?" Relena asked. Her eyes were locked on Kurama, as if to draw every bit of information from him. "Is your family here? Rumor has it your father is a very important man. What sort of work does he do? Is it true that you're a model? Don't you think it's a little bold of a student to do that sort of thing? Are you really engaged? I didn't believe that, but it seems-"  
  
Duo's eyes widened at the rapid questions being fired at the redhead. He was actually surprised. Relena could be forceful, but he didn't think she was the sort who could give such a pressured interrogation. And Kurama was merely looking at her with the same small smile he'd had when he accepted Duo's invitation. He waited until the blonde girl took a breath before answering.  
  
"You shouldn't believe rumors," Kurama said kindly. He added a smile to help soothe Relena's stricken expression and turned away. A glance found Duo looking at him doubtfully. "None of that's true, of course. Except for moving here, it's all speculation."  
  
"I figured," Duo said. He looked over at Hiei, who had been absolutely silent since he sat down. No one had spoken to him at all. And as angry as he'd been about the boy's rude treatment this morning, he had to admit they were being pretty rude themselves by ignoring him like that. "Not eating?" Red eyes flicked up to him and he was answered with a shrug. "I can't say that I blame you. The food here isn't worth half what they charge, and tastes like it comes from a vending machine."  
  
"Be that as it may," Kurama smiled, "it's good to have a little something during the day." He took the labeled juice from his tray and opened it, setting it down in front of Hiei. The black-haired student wrinkled his nose in visible distaste. "Don't argue, just drink it."  
  
The last bit was given in quite a different tone from the one he'd used before, and Duo raised an eyebrow when Hiei sighed. Despite his expression, the angry looking boy did exactly that. In fact, he didn't stop until he drained the can and handed it back with a taunting expression. The exchange took less than a minute. Duo blinked. "Thirsty, I take it?"  
  
"No."  
  
Kurama laughed. "Yes." He didn't seem bothered by the stare Relena was giving him, and focused his gaze on Duo instead. "And stubborn as well."  
  
"Are you two related?" The question obviously came as a surprise because the two students rounded with wide eyes. Relena scowled. "Are you?"  
  
"They don't look like it," Dorothy reminded her. "Why would they be?"  
  
"Because," Relena said, "they moved here at the same time. And they obviously know each other well. Are you cousins?"  
  
"We are not," Kurama answered. "For which I am dearly grateful."  
  
"Ch'. Like I'd want to be related to you."  
  
Relena obviously took insult from the mocking tone, but Kurama smiled pleasantly, looking back to his friend. "The feeling is entirely mutual."  
  
An elbow pushed against Catherine's side, and she turned to find Dorothy smirking at her. The girl gave a significant look over at Trowa and Quatre, then to the two new students. Catherine frowned in disbelief. Surely not. Following her friend's gaze, she stared at Kurama and tried to see what had tipped Dorothy off. She didn't see anything more than someone teasing his friend. Why was Dorothy always the first to notice those things? Her friend was watching her and she shrugged, telling without words that it didn't make any difference to her. She didn't even know them.  
  
Since Relena was still watching him, Kurama gave the girl a curious smile. "Do you know everyone at this school?"  
  
Relena fluffed up like a peacock, her eyes shining. "Of course. I make it my business to know."  
  
"Do you happen to know a girl named Kagome? I hear she lives with her family at an old shrine near here." That question appeared to make Relena hesitate, and Kurama waited patiently, not quite glancing over to where Hiei was watching them.  
  
"I know her," Relena said reluctantly. Was he interested in her? Why her? She had hardly even been to school lately, and everyone knew she had some sort of mysterious wasting disease. One day she'd seem perfectly fine. Then she'd be absent for days at a time. Oh, she had her loyal friends who stood by her, but most of the student body figured she was going to die by the end of the year - or fail from missing so many classes. Even when she did come to school, she seemed prone to sudden outbursts. People were starting to say she suffered from epilepsy. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I'd like to meet her," Kurama said. "Her family history is fascinating. Did you know she is a direct descendent from a famed Miko? The shrine her family lives over is the oldest one in this district."  
  
"Oh!" Relena sighed, a relieved smile flashing over her face and making it obvious that she was a very pretty girl when she wasn't being annoying. "Are you interested in history, then?"  
  
"Very much so," Kurama nodded. "Would you mind introducing me to her? I don't want to seem forward."  
  
After all the girls who'd rushed him to introduce themselves that morning, it sounded like a moot point to Duo. But Relena nodded happily, offering to do it after school that day. Since he was still rather new himself, Duo had no idea what girl they were talking about. Hiei's gaze answered that question, though. The black-haired boy was staring at a girl across the room from them. Following the look, Duo recognized her as one of the girls in his first class. She was rather pretty, with her straight black hair falling down to her waist, and wide dark eyes. He couldn't tell the color from such a distance, but she was smiling as she chatted with the girls at her table. From all appearances, she seemed nice enough, but not too remarkable looking. It made sense if Kurama was interested in her history, rather than her. After all, unless the last few weeks had made him jump to conclusions, Kurama wasn't on the market. He hadn't missed the way the two new students had looked at each other earlier.  
  
Sufficiently reminded, Duo turned his attention to Heero. The brown-haired boy had been absolutely silent during lunch, and he wasn't any different now. Dark blue eyes met his for a moment before Heero went back to eating as if he wasn't even there. Duo dropped his gaze, deflating where he sat. Why couldn't Heero be more like Trowa? It only took one look to see that he and Quatre were doing very well together. The two were engaged in a very quiet discussion that obviously blocked out everything around them. And he'd be willing to bet the lovebirds were holding hands under the table. So unfair.  
  
Hilde frowned in concern from her place beside him, her voice a whisper. "Duo? Is something wrong?"  
  
"What?" Duo blinked in surprise, looking over at her with a quickly placed expression of innocence. "No! Not really. I'm just a little tired."  
  
"You've been working every day, haven't you?" Hilde asked. "Maybe you should take a day off. You'll wear yourself out like that."  
  
Duo smiled and shook his head at her. "Oh, not me. I like to keep busy. And you know, aside from work and school, it's been pretty boring lately. I'm not used to being inactive."  
  
"I forget that you've been doing that for longer than us," Hilde said. She sent a look over to where Kurama and Hiei were sitting and was careful not to say anything that would make them wonder. Though they seemed nice, they were still outsiders. "Just don't work yourself too hard."  
  
"Don't worry," Duo smiled. It was nice to know at least one person cared, even if it was the girl he'd disappointed, instead of Heero. But that was depressing, and he wasn't going to think about it. There was no point worrying Hilde more than she already was. "As long as I can wake up for school in the morning, I'm getting plenty of sleep."  
  
The pretty bluish-black haired girl gave a slow nod. Heero didn't move, still watching them from the corner of his eye. He had noticed that Duo seemed rather depressed lately. Some conceited part of him thought he was to blame, but he had to remember that Duo supported himself. The last two weeks should have been relaxing after their previous fighting. But Duo was probably working that much harder now that he didn't have to save energy for enemies. Baka. The boy turned a bit, and Heero's eyes snapped back to the tray in front of him. He'd just have to keep an eye on him for his own good. If he were working himself to death, he'd either get sick, or be in a bad position if some new enemy showed up. Neither one was going to happen. As much as he disliked the smug taunts he knew he'd get, Heero didn't see any option but to call in a tail for the boy, literally. Wing would love it.  
  
* * *  
  
TBC 


	2. Encounters

Category: Anime, GW fusion with SM, GW/YYH/IY crossover, Yaoi, AU/TWT  
  
Warnings: violence, shonen ai, slight humor  
  
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, Inuyasha/Miroku  
  
Author: Arigatomina  
  
Email: arigatoumina@hotmail.com  
  
Website/Complete Archive: http://www.geocities.com/arigatomina  
  
Japanese/English terms: ningen = human, youkai = demon, Reikai = spirit world, Shinigami = Japanese god of death  
  
Misc Terms: familiars = companions to witches that are said to aid them in their magic, usually small animals such as cats, snakes, and birds  
  
Heart of Darkness  
  
Part 2: Encounters  
  
The yard Duo worked at was a good walk from the school. But there was no reason to rush considering the boy would probably be working for hours. His main mission, as Heero had dubbed it, was to keep an eye out and just follow him in the evenings. Wing thought it was adorable and a little sad. Of course, he wasn't about to argue. He hadn't seen Duo in over a week, so even playing silent shadow would be better than nothing. And he had a suspicion he wouldn't be the only one following the boy around to watch out for his welfare. He fully expected to find Shinigami waiting around outside the yard when he got there. With that in mind, he was pretty happy when he reached the tree that stood across the way from the large fenced-in yard.  
  
Wing sent one glance over at the gates Duo would be coming out before climbing up the trunk of the tree in a quick, feline skitter. It was a good thing he had quick instincts, too, because he wasn't alone. Where he'd been half sure that Shinigami would be in the tree when he got there, he hadn't expected to see not one, but two sets of glinting eyes among the shaded leaves. True to nature, Wing froze for a second before tilting his head to blink at the strange person who was reclining on the limb just beneath Shinigami. The black cat sent him a look that screamed 'act like a cat,' and the boy sent him a look that screamed 'not another one.' Well, the second look didn't scream so much as give an air of resignation. Wing sniffed and shifted on the limb he'd climbed up to.  
  
Now what? Seeing a human in a tree wasn't really all that strange, but it was quite a nuisance. With him there he couldn't exactly chat with Shinigami. And wouldn't the guy wonder why two adult male cats would be choosing the same tree to nap in? Bored red eyes closed and the answer was clear. If the boy was suspicious, he hid it well. He seemed to dismiss the phenomena without missing a beat. Wing relaxed enough to hop up to the limb Shinigami was stretched out on. The black cat turned, giving him another of those 'you're a cat, act like it' looks. Wing smirked in return and promptly sharpened his claws on the limb they were sitting on. Shinigami rolled his eyes and dropped his head back onto his paws.  
  
Though being quiet in front of humans was nothing new to him, Wing got impatient and bored before long. The boy was obviously asleep, the soft, barely heard breaths were even and deep, his head having fallen so his chin pressed his chest. That was odd enough to keep him occupied for a few minutes, wondering why a human would want to sleep in a tree. They had apartments for that sort of thing. But the silence eventually took its toll on him. Shinigami also looked like he was really napping, the dark fur moving gently with his breaths. It made Wing droop near the base of the limb they were on. So much for a chat before his stalking duty. He curled a bit, determined that if everyone around him were enjoying the nice breeze, then he'd do the same. He was just dozing off when something brushed his senses, the tip of one white ear twitching in reaction.  
  
"You're adorable when you sleep."  
  
Shinigami lifted his head, and Wing blinked down at the redhead standing at the base of the tree. He was rather tall, and had an oddly disconcerting glint in his bright green eyes. But his smile was soft. The dark-haired boy sniffed before hopping to the ground, going from a doze to full awareness in seconds. Wing's eyes narrowed at that.  
  
"Took you long enough."  
  
"I couldn't help it," Kurama smiled. "She had it inside her shirt." That managed to get a reaction from Hiei. "I know. She didn't have it at school, so she must have kept it at the temple until she got out. I had quite some trouble sneaking close enough to nab it, I can tell you that."  
  
"And?"  
  
"First," Kurama said, "tell me about your friends."  
  
Wing stiffened when the two teens turned to look up at him and Shinigami, the black cat going just as alert. Why was it he had the sudden impression the redhead could see exactly what he was? No one could. Even Heero had never asked exactly what he was.  
  
"Familiars," Hiei said. He waved a hand at the pair of seeming felines, dismissing their presence. "Too weak to worry about. They wouldn't even classify as youkai. Probably can't even talk, let alone shift."  
  
Bright eyes flicked to him, and Wing glared, agreeing with Shinigami's silent command to be still. He wanted to tell the rude person that he certainly could talk, and quite intelligently. But the fact was...the two obviously knew what they were. That made them dangerous. It also made them useful. Shifting was something neither he nor Shinigami was able to do - not for lack of wanting to, but because they didn't know how. Neither remembered his childhood or anything that might tell them how to make the most of what they were. All they knew was that they were animal beings designed to match and coexist with certain partners. They'd done well to just find their appropriate partners.  
  
"Perhaps," Kurama said. His eyes narrowed, moving carefully over the two cats. They were watching with what looked like intelligent gazes. "But what about their owners?"  
  
"If you got the stone, then it doesn't matter," Hiei reminded him. He folded his arms and waited. "Well?"  
  
"It's not that simple. The rumors were true, she broke it."  
  
Slender fingers delved into thick red hair and the teen produced a small piece of what looked like glass held between his forefinger and thumb. It was just big enough to catch a glint of light. Wing exchanged a long look with Shinigami, both filled with nervous energy. That shard was dangerous. Even without knowing what it was, they could feel the power in the thing. Just seeing it filled them with an urge to have it. Wing could only imagine what it was like to actually hold onto the thing.  
  
"That idiot." Hiei glared, his dark eyes reflecting the tiny sliver of crystal. "As big as the stone was, all she had was that?"  
  
"Oh." Kurama's eyes widened, and he gave a quick smile. "No, she had quite a bit more than this. She was keeping the pieces in a little jar. It was a cute human thing to do, expected of a teenager."  
  
Snorting at him, Hiei shook his head. "Cute. Keeping fragments of the most powerful crystal in the three worlds in a little jar in her house is cute. Ningens." The redhead beamed at him, and he scowled sharply. "If she had more, why did you just take that?"  
  
"Because we only need one to get to where the rest are. That temple is certainly the gateway to the past. We know the stone will be put back together eventually and used before the Reikai gets their hands on it. Otherwise it couldn't have been complete when Yusuke destroyed it."  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"If we can get the entire stone before it gets used, then the Reikai will never intervene. They'll have no reason to if it doesn't fall into the hands of Naraku." His friend was scowling at the ground, and Kurama stared at the shard in his hand. "We just have to keep him from getting it all, and take back however many pieces he's managed to find on his own."  
  
"To think the shards are spread over who knows how wide an area." Hiei growled, his gaze almost dark enough to set Kurama's hand on fire. "The youkai are going to have a feeding frenzy."  
  
"If they aren't already," Kurama agreed. "But something has to have kept them from it if she had so many pieces in her possession. Aside from some spiritual energy, Kagome is nothing more than a weak human, weaker than Yusuke was the first time we fought him."  
  
"Disgusting."  
  
"A little sad," Kurama agreed. "Considering she had the power to split the stone, I expected her to be stronger. But it doesn't matter."  
  
"What now?"  
  
"We wait. I know the portal is somewhere on the temple grounds, but not where. And with her family living there we can't exactly search the place."  
  
Hiei smirked, tilting his head with a wry, glinting look. "I could."  
  
"Ah, I know you could. But I'd rather wait until she goes back. It would be best if we kept a tab on her shards while looking for the rest."  
  
"Why not just take them from her?"  
  
"Because she seems to be necessary for this." Kurama held the shard out to Hiei, nodding when his friend eyed it nervously. "She purified it, Hiei. Whether she poured her essence into the shard, or just touched it. It is completely pure." At that description, Hiei pulled away.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Hiei." Dark red eyes flicked up to him, and Kurama smiled. "You can keep it."  
  
"No!" The redhead stepped to him, and Hiei barely held his stance when Kurama reached into his shirt and pulled free a small necklace. The pearl-like gem sparked in the light, but glowed the moment the shard neared it. Hiei watched with nervous apathy. With a bit of twisting on the metal holding the teargem, Kurama placed the shard to sit entwined with it. The two gems pulsed faintly before going dim. "It's a bad idea," Hiei muttered, still staring down at the gems in Kurama's hand.  
  
"Where better to keep our shard? If anything will maintain that purity, your mother's gem will." Hiei looked away sharply, and Kurama smiled as he tucked the necklace back into his friend's dark shirt. "You keep that safe, and I'll keep you safe."  
  
"Baka."  
  
"Have I told you how cute you are when you blush?" Kurama's hand lifted to cover his mouth when Hiei rounded on him.  
  
"I am not bl-" Hiei's eyebrow twitched and he glowered at his laughing friend. "Idiot."  
  
"Hey, guys!"  
  
Hiei flinched, his narrow eyes snapping around. "That's..."  
  
"Duo," Kurama greeted, pitching his voice so it reached the boy.  
  
Wing and Shinigami shared a worried look as they spotted the person coming toward them. Duo hadn't spotted them yet, but he obviously knew the strange pair. What was he doing associating with two who were definitely not normal?   
  
The boy jogged over and stopped to smile at Kurama and Hiei. "What are you two doing all the way out here? Don't you live closer to the school?"  
  
"Ah," Kurama nodded. "Relena was nice enough to introduce us to Kagome, that girl I asked about. Her family's shrine is near here."  
  
"Right. I forgot you were into history." Duo grinned a little, rubbing at his neck.  
  
"What about you?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Eh, I work over there." He waved at the yard he'd come from before grimacing. "But I had a little accident and had to leave early today." Something shivered the leaves of the tree above them, and Duo looked up in surprise. Sure enough, he spotted a pair of reproachful green eyes and knew Shinigami had heard every word. Perfect. All he needed was a lecture when he got home from his cat. A glint behind the dark feline caught his attention, and his eyes widened. "Wing?!"  
  
Shinigami and Wing both winced when Kurama and Hiei turned to look at them again. Duo, of course, had no idea the pair knew what they were, or that they'd take them for anything other than the cats they appeared to be. But it would have been better if they didn't know the humans they were connected to. Still, Duo was beaming up at him, and Wing couldn't force himself to hurt the boy's feelings by ignoring him. Instead, he lifted his tail and gave his very best 'I'm a cute cat seeing a familiar face' meow. Duo choked on a bit of laughter that ended up sounding much like a giggle.  
  
Kurama's eyes glinted, and he gave Duo a curious smile. "Yours?"  
  
"Yeah, they follow me to work sometimes. Shi-chan's mine, and Wing is Heero's." Duo had moved to the tree, but he paused. "You remember Heero, right? That glaring guy I sat beside?" The redhead gave him a knowing smile and Duo grinned. "They're sweet, but a little bad about running around like they own the place. Come here, kitties."  
  
That sappy voice and endearment made Shinigami's fur bristle as much as the 'Shi-chan' had. But he had to at least make an effort at being normal, whether the pair knew for sure what they were or not. Hiei had said they were familiars but unintelligent ones who were no threat - that was exactly what they would act like. After a quick stretch to get the kinks out, Shinigami jumped down into Duo's arms. He promptly made himself comfortable on the boy's shoulder so Wing could follow. Once they had both taken up their customary perches on the boy, Duo turned back to the pair who were obviously friends of his. Wing did his best not to glare at them. The moment they were alone, he'd repeat every word the two had said, not only to Duo but to Heero as well. Sneaky pair.  
  
"They're softies," Duo said. He noticed that Kurama seemed especially interested in the cats, and he felt a quick worry that the two might have done something to give themselves away. But surely Shinigami and Wing knew better than to do that. "They're usually very well behaved."  
  
"They look perfectly respectable," Kurama said. His smile was genuine, but the glitter in his eyes wasn't lost on either of the cats. He turned his gaze to the black one first. Hiei said they were weak, and that was true. The energy he got from them was just a hint if that. But with shapeshifters, there was only one way to know for sure. "Can I pet him?"  
  
Duo's eyes widened, and he turned to look down at Shinigami. The black cat had dug his claws into Duo's shoulder, the answer a blatant 'no.' But why? This wasn't nearly as bad as dumping him off in Hilde's lap, the way he had back when they were having their meetings at Wufei's temple. Wing was also digging into his other shoulder, and Duo took a step back. "I think they're a little skittish. Maybe another time, once they get to know you better."  
  
"They were comfortable enough earlier."  
  
This came from Hiei, and Duo looked at him in confusion. The tense cats on his shoulders stiffened even more when the short boy moved closer to him. Unlike Kurama, Hiei didn't bother to ask permission first. Duo barely saw the boy move before a pale hand was touching Shinigami's dark neck. And to his astonishment, the obviously angry cat let out a rumbling purr as well as a strange growl. "Shi-chan...?"  
  
Not lifting his hand from the shaking cat, Hiei turned his head sharply. "Kurama."  
  
Duo stiffened when the redhead moved closer, also placing a hand on his cat. This wasn't just rude, it gave him a wash of nervous fear. What the hell were they doing? "Guys-" He barely followed what happened next. Wing leapt off his shoulder so suddenly his claws cut right through Duo's shirt. A flash of black later, Hiei had caught him in midair as if the white cat fell in slow motion. Shinigami remained shivering on his shoulder as Kurama quickly joined Hiei, placing a hand on the struggling white cat. That strange mixture of growling and purring cut off into an almost whimpering whine. Duo growled himself. "Let him go! I don't know what's wrong with you two, but-"  
  
"The game's up," Kurama said. His voice was colder than Duo had ever heard it, but he seemed quite gentle when he lifted Wing out of Hiei's hands. He started to place the shivering cat on Duo's shoulder and opted for his arms instead. Duo accepted the feline with a frigid glare.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Duo asked. His own voice was nearly as cold, and he found himself eyeing the two just as he had Zechs not too long ago.  
  
"He's bleeding." Wide violet eyes darted to the white cat, but Hiei shook his head. "Kurama?"  
  
"He clawed you," Kurama said. Duo flinched back when he took a step toward him, and he shook his head. "A scratch from a normal cat is dangerous. Such a deep scratch from a familiar is much worse."  
  
The redhead pulled a pale cloth from inside his vest and something green from his hair. Duo could only blink in confusion until Kurama drew his attention down to his right shoulder. Sure enough, his shirt was cut in near ribbons where Wing's front paws had been, red seeping into the cloth. "It's just a scratch," Duo mumbled. Despite his words, he suddenly felt dizzy. Surely the cuts couldn't be that bad. And they didn't hurt. In fact, his shoulder was oddly numb.  
  
"A scratch from a familiar," Kurama corrected. "And a very powerful one."  
  
Hiei glared at that. He knew it was his fault for underestimating the two felines. But he had only seen one familiar in his life, and he'd never touched one. Of course he'd assumed they would be as readable as any youkai. And they were very easy to read - once a person was in physical contact with them. Whether they were currently in their dormant forms, both cats had given off enough youki to be C class demons. That meant their full power would be considerably higher. Yes, he'd made a gross mistake to think they were weak.  
  
"Familiar...?" Duo blinked groggily at Kurama, not even bothering to wince when the redhead tore his shirt more to get at the wound. "What are you talking about? And what did you do to them?" That reminded him sharply of the cats he was holding. Duo lifted Wing gently, wide eyes moving over the shivering form. "Wing? Shi-chan?" The black cat on his shoulder gave a soft mewl, ducking his head against Duo's neck. And slowly, Wing looked at him, one blue and one green eye, both filled with blatant guilt. "Hey, don't look at me like that," Duo said. He gave a weak smile and pulled the white cat closer. "They scared you."  
  
Hiei snorted loudly at that comment, and found himself on the receiving end of one very heated glare. He blinked in surprise.  
  
"If you hurt either of them," Duo growled, "I'll-"  
  
"Hurt them?" Hiei snorted again, rolling his eyes at the suggestion. "The only one hurt here was you."  
  
Duo frowned in suspicion, looking again at how limply Shinigami was lying on him, and the way Wing seemed boneless in his arms. "Then what did you do?"  
  
Rubbing a bit of the plant into the seeping wounds, Kurama glanced up at Duo. "I frightened them into submission. If you want to be angry, then direct it at me. Hiei didn't do anything."  
  
"Yes he did," Duo protested. "You may have scared them, but he's the one who made them growl."  
  
"And purr," Kurama reminded him. He gave a wry smile to Hiei before focusing on the wound he was tending. "Hiei can't help that right now. But it certainly didn't hurt them in any way unless you consider frustration a form of pain."  
  
"What?" The redhead gave a soft laugh, and Duo stared at him in utter confusion. "Frustration?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Hiei said sharply. He had a ruffled look of anger on his face and he glared at Kurama. "I won't be touching them again."  
  
"No," Kurama agreed. "We've learned all we need to." He finished bandaging the wound and straightened. Duo was still watching him. "Duo, I want you to be completely honest with me. Do you know what these cats are?" The boy's eyes widened with visible fear. "You do, don't you."  
  
"I..." Duo closed his mouth for a second before answering honestly. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Really." Kurama took a step back, giving the boy a bit more personal space. "Then maybe you can tell me why they reacted the same way any demon would when Hiei touched them."  
  
"Demon?! They're not demons," Duo said. "I don't know where you got that idea, but there's no way they-"  
  
"Demons aren't necessarily evil or monstrous," Kurama said. His voice was calm, but also gentle. "They are merely another form of being. Youkai. Some look as human as yourself, for instance. Others take the form of an animal that might be found anywhere in the human world. And still others can look either human or animal, choosing their form based on necessity. Those cats are a part of the latter."  
  
"Human or animal?" That couldn't be right. Duo turned to look at Shinigami, but the cat was still half buried against his neck. Wing was a little more helpful. The white cat shivered a bit before easing up so he was standing with his paws on Duo's chest. "Wing?"  
  
"I don't know how..."  
  
Duo's eyes widened when he realized they'd just given away unquestionable proof to both Kurama and Hiei. But a glance found the two watching him without the least bit of surprise on their faces. Had they known just by touching them? And if they'd known the cats were intelligent, did that mean they were right about them being demons? Shinigami, a demon? "Shi-chan?"  
  
"I don't know how to shift, either," Shinigami mumbled, his face still hidden on Duo's neck.  
  
It was true, then. Duo's eyes lifted to Kurama and he shook his head. "How did you know? How could you know just by touching them?"  
  
"First," Kurama said, "who are their owners? You said they belonged to you and Heero, but that can't be right. Familiars align themselves with the most powerful beings they can find. And neither you nor Heero has enough reiki to suit a familiar."  
  
"Shi-chan is mine," Duo said. His voice didn't leave room for any doubt, and he glared at the insult. "And I have no idea what this reiki is, but Heero and I are great owners. Shi-chan came to me, and he's been with me since he was a kitten. He's mine."  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Then you're hiding it." The boy flinched at that, and he knew it was true. "What are you to have enough energy to hold a familiar, but no sense of anything but average human reiki?"  
  
"Why?" Duo asked. He couldn't help it when he took an instinctive step away from them. Suddenly one of the comments Kurama had made was forefront in his thoughts. Demons weren't always monstrous, and some looked as human as anyone. "What are you two? And why do you want to know anything about me?"  
  
Kurama gave a tired looking smile. "Because your friends there overheard our conversation, and they're guaranteed to repeat it to you. We can't have anyone trying to stop us without understanding the full weight of what we're trying to do."  
  
"Stop you. What are you trying to do?" The redhead shook his head at him, and Duo edged a bit further from the pair. "What are you?" he asked again.  
  
"You tell us, and we'll tell you." Kurama winked at the boy and grinned when Duo's mouth fell open. "I don't think we're enemies, though. That's what is important." The boy dropped his gaze to the white cat again, and Kurama sighed. "We had to know if our suspicions were right about them. I promise, they've suffered no lasting harm. Although, they might be dreaming of Hiei for the next few weeks."  
  
The last bit was given in a teasing tone, and Duo looked up in time to catch the way Hiei growled and turned his back on them. He was about to ask about the odd behavior when a beeping sound went off. For a long moment the three of them stared at each other in confusion, then Hiei glared down at Duo's arm. Duo flushed. The communicator hadn't gone off in weeks and he'd completely forgotten that he was still wearing it daily. He just thought of it as a bracelet or watch that he never bothered to check. He didn't think he really wanted Kurama and Hiei to see him talking in it, but there wasn't much to do other than to answer it. After all, they already knew about Shinigami and Wing.  
  
Shifting Wing closer to Shinigami, Duo lifted his wrist. It was a little embarrassing with the two watching him, and he suddenly felt like he was a kid playing some science fiction make-believe. "Yeah?"  
  
"Duo, this is Quatre. Are you still at work?"  
  
If he had been, it would have taken him longer to sneak off and answer the call. Duo didn't mention that. "No, but I'm right outside it."  
  
"There's something out there, Duo. Whatever it was, it attacked a girl near there. It's on the police banner. They're saying it's a guy in an outfit, but it tore a hole in the girl's wall during the escape. We're on our way."  
  
"In the daylight?" That was more a taunt than anything since Duo knew the others had yet to be seen in their 'uniforms' during the day. The response wasn't nearly as lighthearted.  
  
"They're saying this thing is eight feet tall, Duo. With six arms. Be careful. We'll get there as soon as we can."  
  
"Right," Duo said. His tone was abruptly serious. "Call the girls if you haven't. No sense underestimating it."  
  
"See you soon."  
  
"Six arms?"  
  
Duo turned at Kurama's voice, but the redhead was looking at Hiei. He didn't know what to say about what they'd heard, no more than he knew what to say about the cats.  
  
"And eight feet tall," Kurama murmured. "Capable of tearing a hole in a wall. And he attacked a girl near here." Hiei's eyes narrowed and he gave a sharp nod. Kurama's own eyes darkened. "If he has the shards she had, then he's going to be above an A class, if not S."  
  
"Scared, fox?"  
  
"You're one to talk," Kurama said. His gaze flicked skyward and he gave a little sigh. "Fighting for myself is hard enough under normal circumstances. Trying to protect you is a challenge."  
  
"Ch'. You're the one who couldn't wait."  
  
"An entire year?" Wide green eyes snapped to Hiei, and the short male looked away. Kurama quickly shifted his tone. "I'm teasing you, Hiei. You can't help this any more than I can help us not being able to wait. Besides, unless I'm wrong, we get to see why the familiars chose Duo as their owner."  
  
That brought the two back around to looking at him, and Duo paled. "You guys can't go with me. I don't think you get it - this is a monster they're talking about. It already attacked one person-"  
  
"But didn't kill her," Kurama said lightly. "If it had, they would have mentioned that. Chances are it's completely unintelligent, just impossibly strong. And while I'm sure your hidden power is interesting, I suspect you'll need some help."  
  
"I have help," Duo countered. "You don't know anything about me or my friends. I don't have any idea what you guys are, but I know you're not like us. This isn't your fight."  
  
"Why do you think the demon came to this world?" Kurama asked. His smile was dark, not the least bit soothing. "It's after the same thing we are. And I'm positive it came from the same place we're seeking to go. Of course it involves us."  
  
"Enough," Hiei snapped. His eyes flicked away and he glared suddenly. "It's coming."  
  
Duo turned to look for whatever it was that Hiei had spotted but didn't see anything. When he glanced back, Hiei was gone. "Where did he go?" The redhead was looking back at the tree they'd been standing under earlier and Duo spotted a dark shadow in it, blending almost perfectly with the branches. "How could he-"  
  
Kurama blinked suddenly and whipped around, his voice sharp. "Hiei! The shard!"  
  
A deep growl sounded an instant before Hiei landed in a crouch beside them, and Duo jumped back. He wasn't just fast, he was inhuman. And the way the boy's red eyes looked when he glared was definitely worrisome. Not to mention that he seemed to have found a sword either in the tree or during his jump from it to the ground. Duo stared.  
  
Clenching his teeth, Hiei sheathed his sword. To Duo, it seemed to disappear behind his back. "You're using me as bait," he growled.  
  
Kurama winced, but nodded. "I'm sorry, Hiei. But he's certainly coming here for the shard, and you're more resistant than I am at close range. You don't have to let him catch you, just stay where he can see you."  
  
"Hn. While you hide."  
  
"Only at first," Kurama promised. "As soon as he's in range I'll attack. I just don't want him to hesitate. If he isn't intelligent, even the shards' power won't change his cowardice." His friend was still scowling at him, and Kurama moved closer, his voice dropping so Duo couldn't hear him. "Besides, you should be flattered. You're the reason youkai find me so intimidating right now."  
  
"I won't inflate your ego," Hiei sniffed, glaring to the side. "Just go. He'll be here any second now."  
  
With a nod, Kurama turned for the tree, the closest 'hiding' spot around since they were in the open. Duo was relieved to see that he didn't disappear the way Hiei had. He ran to the tree and jumped. Of course, the jump was as inhuman as Hiei's had been, but it was better than nothing. Now if he just knew what the hell the two were talking about, he'd be set. But this wasn't the time. Duo turned and crouched, setting Wing and Shinigami down. The two were unsteady on their feet but seemed well enough to run. "Stay safe."  
  
Wing gave a quick nod, then they both turned for the tree. A moment later and they came an instant stop. Shinigami shivered, and Wing couldn't help the soft whine that built in his throat. The soft, answering laugh did nothing to soothe them.  
  
Kurama sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. Get up here and stay near the top. I may have to use the lower branches, but you should be safe up there." The two cats climbed up and he nodded above him. "Go on. Stop looking at me like that. I protect what's mine, but I don't attack unless provoked."  
  
Wing hesitated, glaring despite the way the redhead's gaze made him want to turn tail and flee. "You can keep him."  
  
"Thank you ever so much," Kurama smirked. "Now get up there and keep quiet."  
  
Duo watched as the two cats disappeared into the foliage. He really wanted to ask exactly what they were so afraid of, to ask what had happened when Kurama touched them. But if Hiei were right, there wasn't time for that. The dark-haired teen was standing a few feet to his left, watching the road. As much as he hated the idea of transforming in front of them, the last thing he wanted was to be caught unready over something so trivial as embarrassment. Besides, Hiei wasn't even looking at him. Turning just a bit away from them both, Duo closed his eyes and called on that power reserved only for him.  
  
He'd had some experience doing this in the daytime, unlike the others, and the moment that rush of warm power settled over him, his demeanor changed. Sure, someone wandering by might recognize him since he didn't wear any sort of mask over his face. But the person would have to get close in order to see well enough, and few dared come close during his battles. They tended to get a little wild. Duo smirked at that thought and gave a glance back in the direction of the school. The others shouldn't be too far away now, not as urgent as Quatre's call had been. If they were fast, they could meet the thing when it came, whatever it was. The thought was broken by a growl a few feet from him, and Duo whirled back around. His long glowing scythe was held readily in his hands. He ended up jerking it back when he realized Hiei was the one growling at him.  
  
The short dark-haired teen had his shoulders hunched forward, that sword back in his hand. But he wasn't facing in the direction he'd been looking earlier. As far as Duo could tell, he looked set to attack him, not some monster. Duo blinked in surprise. "Are we enemies, then?" he asked. His voice was soft, but his grip tightened on his scythe. Hiei glared and moved further away from him, putting the tree directly behind him.  
  
"Stay away from me," Hiei spat. With that order, he turned back to watch for the demon he'd sensed. It was moving slowly, definitely a sign of cowardice. He could only hope the human's energy wasn't enough to keep it from attacking. As much reiki as the boy was putting out, there was no point in Kurama's having hidden. No demon with an ounce of fear would come near him. Sure enough, the youki stopped yards from them, just around the corner, and then turned. Hiei gave a frustrated sigh before leaping after it.  
  
"It's running," Hiei called. He didn't wait for Kurama to answer.  
  
Duo jerked in surprise when Hiei vanished. He took a quick step toward where the boy had stood, but stopped again. Kurama had leapt down beside him. "What-"  
  
"Stay here," Kurama said. With that quick command, he ran after Hiei. He didn't like to, but he kept his pace slow enough to give Hiei a chance to encounter the demon first. The last thing they needed was for it to hide out somewhere in the city. And if it sensed him as well as Duo, that was just what it would do. Then they'd be forced to look for it instead of getting on with their plans.  
  
The redhead ran away from him, and Duo stared for a moment in confusion. Then he glared. He probably should have let them go. The others were on their way, so there was no reason to follow them. And he didn't know for sure that they'd gone after the monster he was looking for. But they'd ordered him to stay, when it was his fight to begin with. There was no way he'd obey that. Duo nodded to himself and took off after them. He lifted his arm as he moved, giving a quick message to the others. Then he sped up to catch the fleeting redhead.  
  
Kurama gave a light growl when the boy reached him, but didn't bother to argue. From the youki he was sensing, Hiei had caught the demon. There wasn't time to try dissuading Duo. And the boy was powerful enough that knocking him out would take even longer than just convincing him to stay put. The best he could give was a warning. "Don't get in the way. We can't afford to lose it here or the next humans to come near it will be eaten."  
  
The warning didn't quite fall on deaf ears, but Duo gave no response to it. They rounded the corner together, and all of Duo's indignation at being bossed around died along with his run.   
  
It was huge. That was the first thing that went through his mind, but Duo reminded himself that next to Hiei, almost anything would seem larger. Still, the monster wasn't just tall but wide and bulky. As Quatre had stated, it had six arms, not too dissimilar from the monsters in myths. But the hands were long and seemed to be made out of claws rather than fingers. The body was humanoid enough that he could see where police officers might consider it a suit. But the head was distorted, flat to the point where it was obviously no mask. The eyes were mere slits on the slight snake-like rise, and a gaping maw of teeth took up almost the entire area. Duo's first impression was that it didn't have a head, just a mouth. And then there was the tail, which looked like some sort of twisting blade. Any thought of using an energy attack was instantly canceled out. Hiei was far too close to the thing.  
  
Kurama had halted when he did, and Duo turned to him. "Tell Hiei to pull back," Duo said quickly. "I can't hit it with him that close. And with those arms it's too dangerous to fight close up."  
  
"Which is why he'll cut them off first," Kurama returned. His casual statement made the boy stare at him, but he nodded to the fight. The demon was a quiet one, its cries more like deep sighs of air from its gaping mouth. And Hiei was silent when he fought. Only the swishes of the youkai's tail and Hiei's sword were evidence to the movements. The first real sound was the sucking wet noise as the sword severed one of those thick, clumsy arms.  
  
Duo grimaced at the shower of dark greenish black liquid, noting that Hiei had darted back out of the spray. The monster gave a deep exhalation and swung to the side, another arm reaching toward Hiei. When it met with the same fate, Duo frowned and eased up on his scythe. Maybe they could handle it after all, if Hiei could cut it into pieces all by himself. The teen in question seemed to notice their presence. He moved further away from the monster and turned so they could see him clearly. His dark shirt was split open along his stomach, dark red blood splattered on his left arm.  
  
"It regenerates," Hiei called, his voice seemingly neutral. A moment after giving that bit of information, he was in motion again, dodging the fast, blade-like tail.  
  
Kurama stiffened and pulled something out of his hair. A flick of his wrist turned the rose into a long green vine that seemed to be covered in needles. Without so much as a glance in Duo's direction, he darted forward. The demon let out another of those strange sounds and shifted so the tail moved at him instead. Kurama countered with the vine as Hiei moved to cut through yet another arm. And as he'd said, the two stumps were rapidly growing themselves out again.  
  
"It has to be the shards," Kurama said. "That's what they meant by invulnerable. You could cut it to ribbons and so long as the shards remain in its body, it'll just piece itself together again!"  
  
"I know." Hiei snorted and sidestepped one clumsy, but potentially deadly swipe of the demon's arms. "I tried that. I barely got one shard before it started fixing itself."  
  
Kurama's head jerked up, and he sent a sharp look to Hiei. "You got one? And?"  
  
"You don't expect me to *use* it." Hiei turned to send a disbelieving look at Kurama. "Never!"  
  
"Hiei-" That tail twisted at him, and he jumped back, blocking with his whip. A flick of his wrist and the sharp vine wrapped around the thing. He was just strong enough to hold it when the demon tried to pull free. "It will even the grounds!"  
  
"No." The youkai wasn't the least bit intelligent, as they'd guessed. It continued to strike with one side of its body at a time, ending in awkward movements Hiei easily avoided. The tail was its only fast defense. And with Kurama holding that, it couldn't even step forward when Hiei moved back. Instead, it turned to tug on its trapped tail, putting its back to Hiei. He smirked at the idiocy before slicing into it.  
  
The dark blood that was covering the road was nearly enough to make Duo sick. But he had to admit it was one way to get rid of a monster, cut it into pieces. It would have been a messy but efficient if the thing didn't keep healing itself. Still, the two new students were holding their own. Duo was just starting to feel completely useless when the monster roared.  
  
Kurama flinched, the deep vibrating sound making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The creature's tail shuddered and large spikes split from inside, cutting it free. He could tell by Hiei's sudden curse that its back had also changed. So it was true that the shards could transform youkai as well as make them invulnerable. Even a completely ignorant demon was infinitely dangerous with so many of them. "Hiei! Use the kokoryuuha!"  
  
"I-" Hiei's words were choked off, literally. Along with the sudden spikes, its speed changed. It whipped around and latched onto him with four arms, two of those clawed hands nearly crushing his throat. That gaping mouth ducked toward him and he immediately burst into black flame.  
  
The demon's jaws snapped shut to keep the fire from entering its mouth, but its hide seemed resistant to the heat. Kurama cursed. That explained why Hiei hadn't used his dragon. He tried to get closer, but that tail cut him off, the spikes not slowing its speed, though they did cut into the ground when it moved. This wasn't going to work. Cold anger swept over him, and he dropped his useless whip. He was about to shift forms when a dark figure passed him. His instincts were such that he nearly attacked the boy before he recognized him. The strange violet glow that surrounded Duo had almost completely masked his previous reiki signature.  
  
That spiked tail swung in Duo's direction when he ran towards the monster, and he was forced to jump to the side. Once he was out of its reach, he lifted his scythe and aimed a straight path that wouldn't include Hiei. The small teen was held close to the monster's chest, but it was thick enough that he thought he'd have a clean shot. His scythe glowed as he swung it in an arc so the energy swept along the ground. It sliced through sidewalk and blacktop seconds before slicing through the monster as well.  
  
Hiei hit the ground hard, his numb hands moving to pull free of the severed arms still holding him. His throat was damaged to the point where he couldn't speak. The best he could do was to send a furious look at the boy standing not far from him. Duo didn't seem to understand the order because he advanced on the split demon. With a choked groan, Hiei tackled him.  
  
Duo let out a light cry when he found himself shoved onto his back. Hiei was crouched beside him, one blood covered hand holding his shoulder and keeping him down. Dark red eyes glared at him for a second before the teen turned to Kurama. Duo growled in frustration. "Can't you see I can fight this?"  
  
"Wait."  
  
That one word was given in a hoarse whisper, and Duo looked at Hiei again. His eyes widened when he saw the cuts on Hiei's neck. He'd bleed to death!  
  
"Stay there," Kurama called. His voice was as icy as his anger, and he crouched, directing that to the ground. Palm flat, he called for a plant beneath them and forced it to rise. A moment later sharp spikes broke through the blacktop, wrapping around the pieces of the demon. Instead of regenerating, the pieces were trying to go back together. He directed the plants to hold them exactly where they were. If black flame couldn't destroy them, then he'd just have to find an acidic plant to do the trick. The demon's severed body struggled, pieces jerking as if they had minds of their own. The vines were just strong enough to keep them down. He'd have to shift forms if he wanted to call something strong enough for this task.  
  
Standing, Kurama sent a sharp look to where Hiei had been. "Hiei?"  
  
Red eyes glared bloody murder at Duo, but he ignored them. He'd pulled off his dark headpiece and wrapped it tight around the teen's bleeding neck. Kurama's call made him look over, and he gaped. The redhead wasn't a redhead now. The tall teen's hair was silvery white, and his school uniform was gone. In its place was a thin white outfit that opened in the front to bare quite a bit of his chest. But more startling were the silver gray ears, and the long tail that swept behind Kurama's legs. "What did you do?!"  
  
Kurama blinked, his pale golden eyes widening. "The question is, what did you do to get him to hold still?" The boy had somehow convinced Hiei to sit still long enough for him to wrap cloth around his neck. Duo looked surprised, but Kurama winced at the way his friend was baring his teeth at the boy. Hiei had to be injured badly if he hadn't resisted the treatment. "Hiei, are you all right?" A snort and a glare answered him.  
  
Duo stood when Kurama moved to them, still staring at the teen's new look. If he'd wondered earlier about him not being what he appeared to be, he had no doubts now. "You're a demon, aren't you." Pale eyes flicked up at him, but he didn't press the question. Kurama had crouched next to Hiei, probably to tend the wounds that were still bleeding freely. Duo turned away. The monster had been cut cleanly by his attack, and bound by the strange plants. But it was still moving. "What does it take to kill this thing?" Duo muttered.  
  
"There are shards somewhere in its body," Kurama answered. "We have to get them out or it will continue to heal indefinitely. But we don't know exactly where they are. The best route would be to destroy the flesh till they're revealed." His gaze moved back to Hiei and he nodded. "Acid, perhaps, unless you can try fire again. With it open like this, the inside could be more susceptible."  
  
"A plant won't work." Hiei grimaced when the words grated his throat, but shook his head. "If it ate the shards it would break your control."  
  
"What are these shards?" Duo asked. He'd ventured close enough to the demon so he could see how its front half was squirming against the vines. It was enough to make his stomach turn over. "What do they look like?"  
  
"They're jagged crystals." Kurama gave a light sigh when Hiei nodded at his chest. The shard was still securely bound next to the teargem. He lifted it so Duo could see. "Like this one. He either ate them, or planted them somewhere inside his body." The boy nodded, but Kurama had already turned away. His eyes were wide when he leaned closer to Hiei. "You said you'd gotten another one," he remembered.  
  
Hiei nodded toward his sword. He'd dropped it when the youkai rounded on him earlier. "In the hilt. It's tainted."  
  
"Naturally," Kurama sighed. "We'll have to be careful handling the others. If we can find them."  
  
"Found them!" The two turned in disbelief, and Duo grinned. "You said he ate them, so I looked in the mouth. It's more mouth than anything, after all." Kurama stood and joined him near the still struggling demon. Duo nodded to where he'd propped those jaws open with the curved blade of his scythe. "You didn't mention they were in a jar."  
  
"I didn't think they would be," Kurama said. "Why would he take one shard out but keep the rest in the jar?" That question was directed at Hiei, but his friend shrugged.  
  
"It was in an arm," Hiei said. He'd raised his voice so it would carry, and abruptly regretted that decision. His throat burned and it was difficult to resist coughing. He was sure that if he coughed now he'd be coughing up blood. With a tight glare, he pushed to his feet. His arms were still numb from the hold on them earlier, but his legs were fine. He went over to collect his sword and then joined Kurama in staring down at the demon. Sure enough, the jar was half embedded in the flesh on the top part of its mouth. Hiei used his sword to pry it loose.  
  
Though Duo had faced a variety of monsters and battles in his time, this had to be the grossest one so far. He blanched when Hiei crouched and pulled the bloody jar free. The monster struggled when the jar was removed, and Duo raised an eyebrow at it. "I thought taking those out would kill it."  
  
"So did I." Kurama frowned at the demon, his senses moving over the bound pieces. "These are still pure, meaning he never absorbed them. But why take a few and not all? This makes no sense."  
  
"Unless it had shards already," Hiei glared. "And was sent here to get the rest."  
  
Kurama shook his head with a wry smile. "Naraku. Of course."  
  
"Who is that?" Duo asked.  
  
"Later," Kurama said. "We need to find the other shard, if there's only one. If there are more, we have to find them."  
  
"They're in the tail."  
  
The three of them turned in surprise, and Duo flushed in embarrassment. He'd been standing around so long he should have known the others would reach them soon. But between the strange monster and Kurama, he'd been more than a little distracted. Now he stood to smile at his friends, particularly Heero.  
  
Kurama raised an eyebrow at the group of familiar faces. He hadn't counted heads that afternoon, but he was fairly sure they were all the ones who'd sat at the table with them during lunch. And they were certainly the same as Duo, if the outfits said anything. What really surprised him was that he hadn't sensed them coming. Duo's energy had been very strong earlier, and it was even more obvious now that Kurama was in his youko form. But the reiki he was getting from the others wasn't the same. They felt exactly as weak as they had during lunch. The dark-haired boy was the one who'd spoken, and Kurama looked to him. "How do you know where the shards are?"  
  
Heero raised his own eyebrow at the strange person, not recognizing him. "They glow," he said. "Are you blind?"  
  
Duo winced at the way that was asked, and waved a hand at Heero. "I don't see them either," he said. "Can the rest of you see them?" His friends all shook their heads. Heero frowned in reaction. "It must just be you."  
  
"Where exactly do you see them?" Kurama asked. He'd gone to the tail, which was still struggling against the vines wrapped around it. He looked over at the boy who'd spoken, so he was watching him when Heero took a step away from the others. Nothing visible happened, but the moment he separated from the group, his energy made itself known. Kurama flinched. What were these humans? What sort of energy was hidden en masse but apparent separately? He sent a sharp look at Hiei, and knew his friend had sensed it as well. Then Heero crouched beside the twitching tail and he turned his gaze down again. The boy pulled a long blade and stabbed it into the tail. A twist later and a small shard was flicked free. The demon went immobile the second it was out.  
  
"That was simple," Duo smiled. He'd come to stand beside Heero, and he blinked when Kurama gave him a wide eyed look. "What?"  
  
"How do you do that?" Kurama asked. He rose slowly, still looking from Duo to Heero. "Your energy masks itself the moment you're near each other. Do you block it out intentionally?"  
  
Heero turned to look at Duo, and the longhaired boy shrugged. "Don't ask me," Duo said. "They've been confusing me since I ran into them earlier."  
  
"So I heard." Heero's eyes narrowed and he looked over at Hiei. The dark-haired teen was scowling at his sword, not paying them any attention. "Wing told us you were with Kurama and Hiei. And that they were demons." Red eyes flicked up at that, and Heero blinked. A moment before Hiei's forehead had been clear. Now there was a white band wrapped around it. And he could suddenly see a strap where the boy had a sheath for his sword on his back. The teen's clothing had also changed to a long black cloak. The only thing left untouched was the familiar cloth wrapped around his neck. Duo's headpiece.  
  
"Wing?" Kurama shifted back to his human form as he waited for the question to be answered. And since he'd distracted them, he had to wait even longer for Heero to stare at him in surprise. Surprise and more than a little hostility.  
  
"Wing is Heero's cat," Duo answered. Though he'd been just as surprised earlier, he enjoyed the way Heero's eyes had widened when Kurama shifted forms. He smirked at the boy now. "Kurama's a demon, and so are Wing and Shi-chan - at least that's what they said."  
  
"Demons?!"  
  
The sharp feminine cry made Heero and Duo both wince. Kurama turned and blinked wide green eyes at the group of teens still standing a few feet from the monster. Relena had jumped forward so he could now read her energy. But her voice was much louder. She appeared to be going into shock. "Yes," Kurama said. His tone was the same polite one he'd used with her earlier, but there was a smirk twitching his lips, and a glitter in his eyes. "But I'm also human, if that makes you feel better."  
  
"I think you'd better explain more than that," Wufei said. His tone was hard, and the hostility in his expression was even stronger than Heero's.  
  
"But not here," Dorothy smirked. "Are you going to invite them to your temple?"  
  
Kurama blinked at the black-haired boy. "You have a temple?" A sharp laugh broke out beside him, and he smiled when Duo clapped a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I said the exact thing when I heard," Duo snickered. "And I think that's a great idea. That way we can sit while we talk." He glanced back, intending to comment on Hiei's wounds and how it would be better for the boy to rest instead of being interrogated right there. And then he did a double-take. "When did you change your clothes?"  
  
Hiei sniffed at that comment, but didn't answer. He went to the second shard and placed it in the hilt of his sword next to the one he'd gotten earlier. That brief contact made his white headband glow green, and it was still glowing when he stood to face the others. Duo stared.  
  
"He dropped his illusion," Kurama said. "But that's another thing it would be better to discuss elsewhere. First we need to get rid of the demon. It would be dangerous to leave it here."  
  
Duo nodded, his gaze moving over the sticky body parts. "Yeah. That's pretty gross. I can just see pictures of it splashed all over the papers." He straightened and turned a bright smile on Wufei. "Since I just invited them to your place, you want to have the pleasure of melting this thing?"  
  
"Pleasure?" Wufei raised an eyebrow at that and glanced at the mess. "Hardly." Despite his tone, he did move away from the group, his dark cape swishing behind him. Duo and Heero moved out of his way, and he glared at Hiei when the teen continued to stand right next to the remains. "Do you want to be included in this?"  
  
While he was doubtful that the boy would be able to burn the demon, Kurama was willing to give him a chance to try. He moved to Hiei and, with a light prod, directed him out of the way. A moment later the demon burst into what looked like pure reiki. The only difference was that it was dark purplish black. In fact, it looked almost like Hiei's black flame, except it seemed to burn inward rather than out. Whatever it was, it did the trick. By the time the dark energy was finished, only stains remained.  
  
"Nice work," Duo complimented. Wufei rolled his eyes at him, and Duo smirked. Turning to Heero, he blinked before shifting to match the boy's school clothing. A glance found his friends changing back as well, the brief flashes of colored lights mixing before dying out. Then he turned back to look at Kurama and Hiei. "Guess that's it. Wufei's temple is on the other side of town, though. Will you be able to make it?"  
  
That question was directed at Hiei, and it received a very hateful glare. Kurama winced at Duo's lack of tact. But then, the boy couldn't very well know that reminding Hiei of an injury was equitable to challenging him to battle. "Don't worry about it," Kurama said quickly. "Just lead the way."  
  
Duo gave a doubtful expression but sighed. "If you say so."  
  
The group of friends moved together, and Kurama found himself trailing them a few feet behind. Hiei was silent next to him, glaring at the ground. Kurama lifted the small jar of shards from his vest and turned it in his hand. While he fully intended to take the time to explain things to the humans, he knew he'd have to get the shards back to Kagome as soon as possible. And if he played his behavior right, he could make her indebted to him for having returned them. After all, as long as she didn't know he was using her to keep them purified, she'd see it as the 'right' thing to do. She didn't need to know their motives. That would be revealed as soon as they followed her to the past.  
  
* * *  
  
TBC  
  
--notes--  
  
The GW characters' outfits were described in the first part, and I'll probably go over them again here at a later time. But it won't be a group description. I plan to spread it out and incorporate it into the story itself. Simplified: If you want to know now, check out the first fic - 'Without the Moon.' ^.~ 


	3. Disclosure

Author's Notes: Lots of dialogue - lots. And thanks to the people who left feedback. ^.~ I was afraid I'd be the only one interested in this story.  
  
Category: Anime, GW fusion with SM, GW/IY/YYH crossover, Yaoi, AU/TWT  
  
Warnings: slight shonen ai, bits of humor  
  
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, Inuyasha/Miroku  
  
Author: Arigatomina  
  
Email: arigatoumina@hotmail.com  
  
Website/Complete Archive: http://www.geocities.com/arigatomina  
  
Heart of Darkness  
  
Part 3: Disclosure  
  
Somewhere along the way to Wufei's temple, Duo remembered his headpiece. He hadn't thought about it when he'd transformed back to his normal aspect. But articles of clothing always disappeared when he did that, whether he was holding them or not. A glance found that it was definitely gone, a loose bloodstained scarf having taken its place. The white cloth was in tatters, and it made him wonder if Hiei had really been wearing that cloak all along. If so, why hadn't he felt it when he tied the impromptu bandage into place? And why did the cuts seem older now? Hiei was walking silently beside Kurama, both with their gazes lowered. The dark-haired boy didn't seem to be suffering from any injuries at all. But there was still blood on his hands, his arms hidden by his long cloak. Duo frowned back at him, his glances getting longer as they moved along. He was just working up the impatience to ask about the injuries when the boy looked up to meet his gaze. Hiei glared at him. And Duo turned back around with a scowl of his own. The boy was as rude as Kurama was polite, and he glared even more than Heero did. He hadn't thought that possible.  
  
A glance around found that he wasn't the only one sneaking furtive looks at the two behind them. Heero and Trowa were the only ones who didn't seem in a hurry to check them out. But then, that was typical of them. Hilde was walking to his right, and she blushed when she realized Duo had seen the looks she was casting back at Kurama. She couldn't seem to help looking at him, and even knowing he was a demon didn't stop the urge. It might have had to do with the fact that she'd never seen a demon who looked just like a person. It was a little hard to believe the boy was the same animal like white figure they'd seen earlier. And she wasn't horrified the way Relena had been by the news. After all, Duo had said Wing and Shinigami were demons as well. She looked down at the two cats dozing in her arms and smiled lightly. If they were any example of demons, then there wasn't much to worry about. Shi-chan tended to put up a little fuss when she held him, but they were both very sweet. And Wing had a downright playful streak to him. There was nothing about the pair that fit what she had heard about demons.  
  
A hand entered Hilde's line of vision, and she smiled when Duo petted Shi-chan's neck. The black cat had passed out the moment she picked him up, Wing following soon after. They were obviously exhausted from whatever had happened earlier. Wing had explained that Duo was with Kurama and Hiei. Then he'd all but collapsed on the ground next to Shinigami. Hilde had been the first to reach them, and she'd been carrying them ever since. It made her glad she hadn't had to fight. They looked like they could use the rest.  
  
And rest they did. The two cats barely twitched when they reached the temple, only Wing actually opening his eyes. He closed them again almost immediately. Hilde made herself comfortable on the floor across from the couch, content to hold them till they wanted free. Catherine and Dorothy dropped down to either side of her, and Relena made her place on the couch. Her eyes were glued to Heero, as if willing him to sit down in the spot she'd left next to her. That mental order went unheard. Trowa had gone to sit on the edge of the couch with Quatre taking that free spot. The blonde boy looked as if he felt bad for it, but a glance at Heero kept him quiet. They didn't need an argument to break out right now. Wufei, as usual, took the solitary seat to the side of the small table and waved Kurama and Hiei at the half empty couch. If anyone else was going to sit next to Relena, it would have to be one of them. Even Duo wouldn't volunteer for that position. Kurama took it with a polite smile, though he did leave plenty of room between him and the now-skittish girl. Hiei remained near the door, leaning against the wall with a look that clearly stated he'd found his place and would not be moved.  
  
Duo frowned at the room on the couch, then at Heero. The Japanese boy seemed to be mimicking Hiei, only he was leaning against the wall to the side of the couch instead of all the way across the room. With a forlorn mental sigh, Duo sank to the floor near the edge of the couch, leaving Heero at his back. He wasn't about to stand for an hour or two. Besides, it was rude. Relena was already leaning close enough to Quatre to make the blonde boy look distinctly uncomfortable. Her fear of Kurama made Duo want to smack her, or maybe just laugh at her. Sure, Kurama was a little strange looking earlier, but he was still nice. At least, Duo thought he was. He was certainly much nicer than Hiei. Along with his thoughts, Duo turned his gaze over toward the door. Red eyes glared at him and he jerked his head back around. He had to bite his lip not to say something he'd regret. The treatment was way too similar to Heero. But while Heero's glares made him depressed, he wanted to yell at Hiei. He put up with Heero because he liked him. The other boy didn't get the same leniency.  
  
"Well?" Wufei frowned when Duo turned a confused gaze on him. "You invited them here," he reminded him. That made it Duo's move to start the questioning. The boy blinked and then smiled. The expression gave Wufei a sinking feeling.  
  
"Right," Duo said. Turning to Kurama, he gave the redhead a quick smile. "So...what are you?"  
  
"A demon spirit reborn into a human body," Kurama said brightly. He smiled pleasantly. "I nearly died once, but I managed to escape to this world where I was reborn. Now I can use either form, making me a shapeshifter much like your familiars."  
  
Hilde blinked when she realized Kurama had nodded to the cats in her arms. "Familiars? You mean like western witches have?"  
  
"Not exactly," Kurama said. "Western witches had cats, just animals. They believed black cats enabled them to work their magic better. But they were still just felines. Those two are youkai, demons. We call them familiars because they are rarely found in the Makai - the demon world. They cross into this world as babies, and most spend their entire lives here. Once they were powerful shapeshifters, but the species killed itself off over time. Most familiars that remain are very weak, having mated either with humans in their humanoid form, or with animals in their animal forms. I've only seen one myself, and it was little more than what it looked like, a cat. His owner still has no idea that he's a crossbred demon."  
  
The redhead smirked at that, sharing a look with Hiei. Duo frowned at the two of them. "How could he not know? Didn't it talk to him?"  
  
"Oh, no," Kurama said. His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. "He can't talk. He simply doesn't have that sort of blood in him, far too weak a strain. I would never have guessed what he was if I hadn't heard about them. His owner found him as a kitten, and he's never once seen him as anything else."  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes. "Good thing, or the Baka would have been terrified of it."  
  
"Most likely," Kurama agreed.  
  
"Was this a friend of yours?" Catherine asked. She sent a look at the two sleeping cats and shook her head. "If they are so rare, what are the chances of someone you know having one?"  
  
"Very good, actually." Kurama smiled. "Kuwabara was rather strong for a human. His spiritual energy must have called to the kitten, since his was the strongest reiki where he lived. And unless they find a suitable partner, familiars die out or become just more strays disappearing into the Ningenkai - the human world, as we call it."  
  
"Then Shi-chan picked me because of my energy?" Duo raised an eyebrow at that. "How could he know about everything if he just picked me because of my powers? He knew all about the girls, and that our powers came from the planets."  
  
"Planets?" Hiei's voice made Duo frown, but his gaze was sharp. "Your power comes from the planets? What idiocy is that?"  
  
Kurama winced and placed a hand over his brow. "Hiei..."  
  
Dorothy rounded quicker than Duo could and sent a look that rivaled Hiei's derogatory stare. "For a demon, you certainly don't know much, now do you. Each of us has a distinct power that comes from a planet in this solar system. And together, we can combine those to create a new power, stronger than any one of us."  
  
"I've never heard of such a thing," Kurama said. He lifted a hand when Dorothy glared at him, and shook his head. "I'm not doubting you. What we saw earlier is something that doesn't make sense according to any of the laws. But the reiki was undeniable. Duo alone is easily stronger than I am in my human form." This made the longhaired boy drop his eyes, and Kurama frowned a bit before looking to Dorothy again. "And when you were together, that energy masked itself completely. It goes against everything I know."  
  
"But planets?" Hiei sniffed, giving Kurama a doubtful look. "How could a person - especially a human - have the power of an entire planet?"  
  
"We just do." Hilde flushed a little when Kurama turned to her, but she managed a firm nod. "We focus on our planet and draw from that energy till it consumes us. At first we had to say the name aloud, but now it's just a matter of focus. That's how we transform."  
  
"I transform by closing off my thoughts," Kurama said lightly. He gave the girl a slight smile. "The first time it was drug induced and felt as if my life were being stripped away from me, one piece at a time. Now, I just drop everything, close it off so my true nature is the only part of me left."  
  
"But...wouldn't that make you two people?" Relena paled a bit when the boy turned to her, and she eased closer to Quatre, not quite sitting in his lap.  
  
Kurama sighed. She was obviously going to be wary for a while, so he didn't bother to appease her fear. "Once I shift, I have access to my memories. It's only the change that takes focus, and I couldn't focus if I had two lives vying for dominance in my mind. My spirit is unchanging, only my form and mentality shift - and even that I can control if I choose to. There are times when I prefer to be as I was before, pure demon. Now, I am a mix of both, just as I was when we met this morning." If anything, the reminder seemed to annoy the girl. But her frown was better than that unreasonable fear.  
  
"So," Duo said, "you shift forms when you want to. And you said Shi-chan and Wing could do the same?"  
  
"I don't actually know," Kurama admitted. "With their strength, they should be able to. But if they were born here, they could be diluted to the point where shifting is impossible. It would depend on their parents, and what they were before they chose you as partners. If they escaped to this world as kittens, then those memories could be masked by necessity. They'd have to break those barriers first to remember what their true forms are."  
  
"But they'd be human?" Duo prodded.  
  
"Humanoid at the very least," Kurama said. "Very few demons are completely human in appearance. Hiei for instance, was born with an entirely human appearance. Only his eye color distinguished him. Most demons are more easily recognized. Usually only the very powerful ones can mix with humans without being noticed. Ice races are among these few. I was and am a youko, a type of fox demon. My humanoid aspect was as you saw earlier, and my animal form would stand out amid ningen creatures." He gave a light smile when Hiei smirked at him. "Too many tails."  
  
"I thought you said familiars mated with humans and animals," Duo frowned. "How could they mate with humans if they didn't look human?" A snort caught his ear, and he turned to Hiei. He was ready for another of those mocking burns, so he blinked in surprise when he saw that Hiei wasn't looking at him. The black-haired youth was smirking down at his folded arms and appeared to be smothering laughter. Duo's eyes widened.  
  
Kurama grinned for a moment before doing his best to sober the expression. "Demons have been mating with humans for centuries," he said. "Appearance only matters if it takes place in the human world. Most demons who choose to mate with humans take them back to their own world with them. It's rarely a voluntary matter on the human's part."  
  
Relena blanched, and Dorothy burst into laughter at the girl's expression. "Don't worry," she laughed. "I'm sure you're safe, Relena."  
  
"Yes," Kurama nodded. "Most demons find it repulsive to sire children of part human blood. They might couple with them, but they'd never mate if there were the possibility of mixed offspring. Only in very rare cases do hanyou's survive, the halfbreeds with both human and demon blood. They either sneak to the human world and spend their lives in hiding, or are killed by their demon kin. That sort of thing hasn't been done in over a century."  
  
"Wait," Duo said, "that's an insult, isn't it." His eyebrow twitched when Wufei snorted at him this time.  
  
"Of course it is," Wufei said. "But it doesn't matter. No human would want half demon children either."  
  
"True," Kurama nodded. "But as I said, it was rarely the human's choice. Now it is no longer an issue since humans have been cleared from the demon world. Those demons strong enough to not care if their children are weakened by crossbreeding can't find human mates anyway. So hanyou's with human blood have died out. Only the very strained few remain, and most of them are so weak you'd never know them from another human."  
  
"So demons take humans to mate with, then kill the babies?" Catherine's tone was very cold, and it made Kurama lean back away from her, his hands raised again.  
  
"In the past," Kurama said quickly. "And the parents didn't do it, the kin did. Full blooded demons would attack the mixed offspring so long as they were too weak to defend themselves. If the parent demon was capable, the child survived. If not, the child died. And if the hanyou survived the guarding parent, he'd most likely be killed at a later point. It was not so widespread when there were still humans mixing with the demons. Only after the two were separated did the problem escalate."  
  
"Once they ran out of food," Hiei spat. The humans turned to stare at him, most looking quite horrified at that statement. And he smirked at the lot of them, at Duo in particular. "Ningen is a delicacy in the Makai."  
  
Kurama grimaced at the way Hiei was riling them, and stood. The others turned to him, and he shook his head violently. "Not all demons. There are many, yes, and many of the ones who intend to invade the Ningenkai are that sort. But there are others who find that tradition abhorrent. Hiei and I are among the latter." Hiei gave him an irritated glare, and Kurama sent him a pleading look. "Please stop? They don't understand that you're teasing them." His friend snorted and turned his head to the side so he was staring away from the room, in the direction of the door.   
  
Kurama took his seat again, his gaze moving to Duo. The boy was still looking at Hiei, and Kurama leaned forward to catch his attention. "One of the reasons we are here is to keep the demons from entering this world. There is a war going on in the Makai right now, and the stronger of the two factions is using the Ningenkai as prize. Their goal is to storm the barrier separating the two worlds and take both as their own. We intend to stop that from happening."  
  
"How do you plan to do that?"  
  
This came from the dark-haired boy who was leaning against the wall near them. Heero's tone was as neutral as any Kurama had ever heard, and his expression gave nothing away. Kurama almost smiled at that display of control. "We won't actually be the ones to stop it. As we are, the best Hiei and I could do would be to fight the invading army. That won't get us anywhere. The real solution is to fix the barrier so even the largest army can't break through. It's a force field, you see, formed entirely of reiki - spirit energy. No demons over a certain power-level can get through, and it is impervious to any demon attack. I've only known one person to ever be able to sever the barrier, and he was entirely human. If we can get the barrier repaired, the battle would be over without any casualties."  
  
"This barrier separates the two worlds?" Quatre had leaned forward to ask that question, so it was the first really good look he had of Kurama. The redhead nodded. "And it's made of human energy so the demons can't break through it. Then shouldn't the people who made it be able to repair it using the same energy they made it with?"  
  
"Unfortunately, the energy the barrier was made with has already been used." Kurama's eyes dimmed a bit, and he dropped his gaze. "We're to blame for that. Four years ago, a human decided he would open the barrier and let the demon world in. It was a death wish that would have meant the end of the human world. During the battle to stop him, Koenma - the leader of the Reikai - used what energy he had stored. That energy would have been enough to fix the barrier if it were ever severed. But he used it against our enemy, and because of our friend's interference, the energy was not enough. It still wouldn't have mattered because the barrier was intact at the time. And only a human with a specific talent had the ability to sever the barrier."  
  
"So what happened?" Duo asked.  
  
"We did."  
  
Duo turned at Hiei's cold words, but it was Kurama who explained in that same quiet tone.  
  
"A friend of ours was killed and we followed our enemy into the demon world. In order to do that, we had to pass through the barrier. Hiei and I were too powerful to pass it, so Kuwabara cut the field. He didn't realize that once it was cut there was no power left to restore it. If he'd known, he would have gone alone for revenge, leaving us behind. We knew that, and we said nothing." Kurama looked up after a moment of silence, his expression calm despite the way his eyes sparked. "That means if this army succeeds in crossing to the human world, we are responsible. That's why we're here."  
  
Quatre's voice was soft, his sympathy showing in his eyes. "But if it takes human energy to repair the barrier, what can you do?"  
  
"The Reikai has a squadron of people who are currently guarding the rift. They have the power to keep it closed against demons of A class or lower. So long as the S class demons don't try to pass, they can hold it indefinitely. But it's just a matter of time before the war is over and the leaders force a confrontation. Against S class demons, those guards are useless. What we have to do is find a replacement power source the Reikai can use to seal the barrier. There were two items powerful enough to do this. One was used during the fight against Sensui, before we cut the barrier. The other..." Kurama looked over at Hiei and nodded when his friend lifted the teargem and shard so the others could see it. "Is the black orb, also known as the shikon no tama."  
  
"The shards you got from that demon," Duo said. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "But they were just pieces."  
  
"Yes," Kurama said. "That stone existed long ago, before the human and demon worlds were separated. During that time it was buried along with the Miko who had guarded it. But soon after her death, the stone disappeared from her grave and was discovered in the hands of a demon, Naraku. Legend has it that the Miko's reincarnation had somehow come back in time and brought the stone with her. There were some accounts that the stone was shattered and pieces sought out by many demons. Other accounts say the stone was stolen by Naraku, the strongest demon alive at the time and probably one of the first S class demons on record. That stone was used by Naraku, and then taken into custody by the Reikai. That was when the barrier was put into place, and the two worlds separated. After seeing the damage a single demon had done to the human population, the Reiaki began to protect the humans.   
  
"They'd been saving energy for centuries to create the barrier, so they planned to use the stone if they ever needed to repair the barrier in the future. As it turns out, there was no need for this. By the time the stone was used, they had already gathered enough energy to repair the barrier. You see, the stone was stolen a few years ago by a group of demons, and in order to keep them from using it, our friend destroyed the stone. It was a loss of enormous power, but since they had energy stored, it didn't seem to matter. Now that we've wasted that energy, there is nothing to repair the barrier."  
  
Kurama covered his eyes, rubbing at his temple with a dark glare. "Yusuke destroyed the stone, then he prevented Koenma from using the energy they'd stored against Sensui. And when Yusuke was killed, we let Kuwabara cut the barrier, knowing full well that there was nothing left to repair it. We're to blame on every account."  
  
"Wait," Duo said, frowning at the troubled youth. "If this Yusuke destroyed the stone, doesn't that make him at least partly responsible?"  
  
Quatre winced, shaking his head at Duo. "He was killed," he said softly. "That's why they had to go through the barrier."  
  
"Oh. The way he talked it sounded like he was still alive so..." Duo dropped his eyes, shame flushing his face. "Sorry about that."  
  
"Don't be," Hiei sniffed. He was still looking at the door, but he shook his head, just a bit. "Yusuke is part demon, a rare case that skips a dozen generations before showing up again. He was revived almost immediately after we left. Our attempt at revenge was completely pointless."  
  
Kurama sighed. "Yes, Yusuke is very much alive. That's what makes our actions unforgivable. He is keeping watch with the guards over the rift in the barrier, so if the army does approach, he'll hold them off for as long as he can. And if we can retrieve the stone, our crimes will be pardoned."  
  
"Crimes?" Quatre's eyes widened and he sent a sharp look from Kurama to Hiei. "Because your friend cut the barrier?"  
  
Hiei snorted softly and glared harder at the door. "Because we're demons."  
  
"Someone has to serve for what happened," Kurama explained. "And Kuwabara is a human, so he cannot be placed in Reikai prison while he's still alive. Yusuke is innocent of the crime since he was dead when we went through the barrier. As demons, the crime of killing a human is life imprisonment, no matter what the circumstances. And humans will certainly die if that army crosses the barrier. Regardless, we must either die fighting the army or serve the time. The only other option is to seal the barrier, meaning to find a power source that won't take centuries to build."  
  
"So you're collecting the pieces of the stone your friend destroyed?" Duo frowned in confusion. "What good would it do if it's broken? And why did that demon have them?"  
  
"No," Kurama said. "The stone Yusuke destroyed was obliterated by his energy. What we need is the original stone - the one the Reikai took before the barrier was erected. In the past. If we take that stone and use it in our own time to seal the barrier, we can return it without changing the timelines. The Reikai never used the stone after they took it - not until it was stolen and Yusuke destroyed it. They won't know that anything changed if we use it here and get it back in time for them to take it into custody."  
  
"Wait a second," Duo said, a grin flashing over his lips. "You plan to go back in time and grab that stone? What, can demons time travel?"  
  
"It seems some can," Kurama smiled. "We first thought of this idea from looking at the legends regarding the stone. It was strange that the records reported the stone being buried with the Miko, but that it showed up again some fifty years later. Even more interesting where the conflicting records of a girl, supposedly the reincarnation of the original Miko, having broken the stone into pieces. It takes centuries for a human to be reincarnated, and the Miko's soul had not yet been processed when this girl appeared. The Reikai's records were clear on that much. With a little searching of the hall, we found that the girl did in fact exist. But her soul originated from this time - fifteen years ago. If that girl was the one who shattered the original stone, then she had to have somehow traveled to the past. And if she could travel, there was good reason to believe anyone could so long as they followed the same route she did. That's our intention.  
  
"Kagome is the reincarnation of the Miko who died with the stone. And so far the legend seems to be true. She's gone to the past and shattered the stone. Now, I believe she is trying to collect the shards before they can be used by demons in that time. What we have to do is help her get the pieces. I'm sure she has the power to make the stone complete again if she had all the pieces. According to the records, she did in fact collect them all - that's when the Reikai discovered the stone and took it from Naraku."  
  
"Who's Naraku?" Duo asked. "You mentioned that name earlier, too."  
  
"He's the demon who killed the original Miko, and he's the demon who used the stone in the past. It was his abuse of the stone that make the Reikai separate the two realms and take the stone into their own protection." Kurama nodded at Duo. "He's also almost certainly the one who sent the demon you saw earlier. I'm sure he's trying to take the pieces from Kagome."  
  
"That's why you wanted to meet her!" Relena's mouth fell open and she stared at Kurama in disbelief. "Are you saying the reason she's been absent so much this year is because she's going to the past? Wouldn't she cause a paradox if she changed the past?"  
  
"No," Kurama said. "Because the past has already been changed. We already know she changed the past when she first went there - otherwise the stone would not have shown up after the Miko's death, and there would be no reports of an unidentified girl in the records. And since we know she will not create a parodox, it makes sense that we won't either. Even if we did, it's better than letting the human world be destroyed."  
  
"The human world isn't going to be destroyed," Heero said flatly. He was wearing a rather bored expression, his voice matching it perfectly. "If what you say is true, then humans and demons were existing together from the start. It would just go back to that."  
  
"With humans as prey," Hiei said. Heero turned to stare at him, but he didn't see it since he was still facing the door. "If you knew what the past was like, you'd realize this human world is nothing like it once was. There's no comparison. As weak as humans are now, they'd be wiped out or enslaved within a week."  
  
Kurama nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid it's true. In the past, the humans were stronger. They lived with the constant threat of attack from their demon neighbors. And the demons lived the same, because at the time, the demons were not as strong as they are now. It wasn't until the two were separated, and demons turned against each other, that they began to get stronger. And while the demons got stronger through constant conflict, the humans have lived in relative peace. Spiritual energy has all but been forgotten in the human world, while youki is the key to life or death in the demon world. If that army invades, your bombs and technology will be completely useless. Only those few humans who are working for the Reikai will have the strength to survive, and even they won't be able to stand up against the hordes of demons who want to come through."  
  
"Explain this spiritual energy," Catherine said. Her gaze was very direct, and sober.  
  
"Reiki is what we call the energy humans have," Kurama said. "Every human is born with reiki, but some have it in large amounts and can use it, harness it, as a form of power. Demons have a similar energy, youki. And the distribution is the same - some have huge amounts while others have as little as the average human does reiki. The demons with small amounts die as infants, so most demons have considerably more youki than even the rare humans. I've met very few humans who could stand up to the average demon, and only two who were comparable to an S class demon. One of them is dead now, the other is Yusuke, who is only that strong because he has demon blood as well, making his an unusual mix of reiki and youki. As I said, half human hanyou's are as good as extinct now. He is the exception since in his case, his ancestors were the ones to breed and then survive. And since his human ancestor was alive when the worlds separated, her child and descendants survived. Humans have never been as quick to kill a child with demon blood as the demons have to their own half-human kin." He nodded to Catherine and gave her a sad but honest smile. "For as many hateful humans as this world holds, the love remains for one's child."  
  
"You're part human," Catherine said. "Do you consider yourself a hanyou, then?"  
  
"No, but I love my human mother more than any demon parent I might have had." Kurama could see that the girl softened to him at that moment, and while he was glad for it, he knew he'd do better to shift the subject. He didn't like discussing parents around Hiei. "The problem remains that we need to get the stone and seal the barrier. If we can do that, there won't be any reason to worry about humans matching the demon army."  
  
"Wait," Duo said. He raised an eyebrow at Kurama, his gaze suspicious. "What about us? We don't have any ties with this Reikai group, but we have plenty of power."  
  
"I know." The boy seemed to be waiting for something, but Kurama didn't know what. "Once we settle the problem, we'll have to report your existence to the Reikai. But I doubt they'll have any issue with you since you're not using that power against other humans. They rarely interfere with humans unless they're protecting them from demons. At most, Koenma would send someone to document the nine of you. The only problem you might have would be your familiars." Here, Kurama frowned at the two cats, who still seemed to be dead asleep. "If they are capable of transforming, then I doubt they'll be allowed to remain in the human world unattended. They'll have to become tantei if they want to stay."  
  
"Tantei?" Duo didn't know the word, but there was no way anyone was going to take Shi-chan away from him. Even if his cat wanted to leave, this demon world didn't sound like the place for anyone as sweet as Shinigami or Wing.  
  
"Soldiers, investigators, servants," Kurama supplied. "Those working for the Reikai are known as the reikai tantei. They're usually humans who defend other humans from demons, but since Yusuke, they've opened it to include others. Hiei and I were the first demons to be included in the group. If you appeal to Koenma, he might be persuaded to use your familiars rather than sending them away."  
  
"Why should we appeal to this guy?" Duo glared. "It's none of his business if they're here - they don't hurt anything, and they've been a great help to us. We protect people the same as these tantei."  
  
"They're demons," Hiei stated, in that flat tone of his. "Demons are not permitted entrance to the Ningenkai. And any found to have snuck in are sent back or imprisoned. You don't want them imprisoned. They'd be wishing for death if they were."  
  
Duo stared, shaken by the cold warning. He really wished Hiei would look at him so he could see the youth's eyes. Now he almost missed having him glare every time he glanced over at him. "But if demons aren't allowed here, how did you get here? And Kurama said he was born as a human." He turned to frown at Kurama. "How did you get here?"  
  
"I stole in as a spirit," Kurama said, "without a physical form. The barrier can't block a spirit. Hiei came through when he was weaker. It keeps out the dangerous demons, but some do slip through who are just beneath D level. If the Reikai had discovered us, we would have been charged immediately. As it is, we've already done our parole for that offense when we joined the tantei. When it comes to getting favors, Koenma is more than willing to bend the rules."  
  
The redhead gave a wry smile, and Duo felt a bit of hope come into him. "Then if Shi-chan and Wing help this Reikai, they'd let them stay? We already protect humans, so that should be simple enough."  
  
"Maybe," Kurama said. He didn't want the boy to get his hopes up, and from the way those violet eyes were shining, he had an idea Duo was pretty hopeful. "But once we get the stone, there won't be much need for new tantei. Only those they owe a debt to, or plan to use get past the laws."  
  
"We're useful," Duo scowled. "I helped you earlier, didn't I? And Heero told you where that shard was - you'd have had to pick the thing apart to find it if he hadn't told you."  
  
"Yes, you were helpful," Kurama said quickly. "But your help isn't what is in question here. I'll definitely tell Koenma that you helped us, after this is over. Your familiars, on the other hand, are demons. They'd have to prove themselves. And once the threat is gone, there won't be much opportunity for them to do that."  
  
"So we help you now." Heero's expression didn't change when the redhead turned to him. "That's why you explained, isn't it."  
  
"No." Hiei rounded on the group, facing them for the first time since Kurama's rebuke. "If I'm sentenced because of the barrier, then so be it. But I refuse to serve because one of you died trying to 'help.'"  
  
His friend's tone was biting, but Kurama had to agree. "If anything happened to one of you, we would be held entirely responsible. We don't have Koenma's support to request assistance from uninvolved humans."  
  
"Uninvolved?" Dorothy threw her head back with a sharp laugh. "Oh, that is great! The entire human race is in danger of being wiped out, and you think we aren't involved in it."  
  
"The attack on Kagome made us involved."  
  
Kurama blinked, looking around to identify the new voice that had spoken. And he found himself staring into sober green eyes. The tall boy had been quiet since he'd first seen him at lunch that day, but his gaze was direct and calm, not the least bit shy. "As to that..."  
  
"We have taken the duty of protecting this town, or any town from enemies," Trowa continued. "Duo came here from across the globe in order to defend unknown civilians. It doesn't matter if the new enemy is demon in nature. One of our fellow students was attacked. That makes it our fight."  
  
Duo was nodding adamantly, but he paused after a moment. "Then it *was* that girl the monster attacked?" His eyes widened as that hit him. "But she lived, right? I mean, if the fate of the world is on her finding the rest of that stone, and she died in an attack-"  
  
"She lived," Quatre said. His voice was reassuring, and he gave a gentle smile to his worried friend. "The report I caught was that she'd been thrown across her room, but I don't think she sustained any serious injury."  
  
"She didn't," Kurama said. "One thing we can be sure of is that Kagome will live until all of the pieces have been found." He reached into his vest and showed them the little jar he'd taken from the demon. "This stone is cursed. In the hands of a demon, it is charged with negative energy. When the Reikai took the stone, it had been used by Naraku, but it was pure and untainted. That means someone had to have purified the stone *after* Naraku used it. And only Kagome could have done that. So we know she will live long enough to purify the stone after Naraku uses it."  
  
"Unless someone else purified it," Duo said. Kurama shook his head at him, and he frowned. "Why would it have to be her who did it?"  
  
"It took a very powerful Miko to keep the stone pure. And after that Miko died, there were no others aside from Kagome - her reincarnation. I don't believe any normal human would be able to purify even a small shard once it's been tainted."  
  
Duo scowled. "So...once a demon touches a piece of this stone it's bad? Then now that you have it, wouldn't you taint it?"  
  
"It's the use that taints the stone," Kurama explained. "I would have to use these to taint them. Merely holding them won't change anything so long as I don't use their power. And the energy reading of pure shards isn't nearly as strong as that of tainted shards, so having this many together is only possible if they're purified. If these were all tainted, every demon in the ningenkai would center on them. Kagome would have been dead the first time she brought the shards here. A tainted shard can be felt at a much greater distance than a purified one. There's also the fact that a tainted shard is much harder to resist. I would have great difficulty holding a tainted shard and not using it. Consider it a drug, tainted shards give off an essence that entices demons to use them."  
  
"Sounds like a strange stone," Duo said. "So what about those pieces you got from that demon earlier? They were tainted, right?"  
  
"Hiei has them," Kurama nodded.  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow and gave Hiei an uncertain look. "And that's safe?"  
  
"Hiei has more self control than I do." Kurama smiled, following Duo's gaze to where Hiei was pointedly ignoring them both. "And his jagan lets him block the shards' power so it has little effect on him. Think of it as mind control - the shards draw a demon to use them whether he wants to or not, making him think that he wishes to give in. Mind control is difficult to enforce on someone with a jagan."  
  
"Jagan?"  
  
"A third eye, surgically implanted," Kurama explained. "That's why you didn't see his real appearance at school, and why none of the teachers noticed our presence. Hiei exerted a little push so the humans would see only what he wanted them to see, and so the teachers would get distracted any time someone referred to one of us. It rather backfired, since it ended up drawing more attention to us." Hiei sniffed, and Kurama shrugged lightly. "But it was my idea for him to influence the way he was seen. I should have been more exact on what I wanted him to do." He turned back to Duo and smiled at the boy. "The only way I could convince him to enter the school was to promise that no one would notice him. And there was no way I could get him to dress like a human."  
  
Duo looked over Hiei's dark cloak, raising an eyebrow at how long it was and the very noticeable sword on his back. "I see what you mean."  
  
"Yes," Kurama sighed. "Well, I really should head over to see Kagome now. I need to get the shards back to her, especially the tainted ones. Keeping them would guarantee attacks while we're here, and there's no need to draw even more enemies to us."  
  
"Wait," Duo said quickly. "Where are you going to go? Are you going to the past now?"  
  
"No, we're waiting till Kagome goes back so we can identify the portal. Then we'll follow her."  
  
"And in the meantime you'll be acting like students?" Duo's gaze fell to where Shinigami and Wing were sleeping, and he frowned at them. "What about us? If you're going to be here for a while, couldn't you let us talk to these Reikai people? If we had their permission to help, then you guys wouldn't be held responsible, and we can prove that Shi-chan and Wing are useful."  
  
Kurama winced a bit, standing slowly. "I really don't think we'll need the help. At most, Koenma might use you to guard the city against any demons that try to follow us to the past. They'll certainly come here to try and destroy the portal before we can retrieve the stone. But we already have people coming to prevent that. And the only real way to prove your familiars are trustworthy would be to take them into the Makai and test them after they've transformed. I doubt you'd want to risk them like that."  
  
"I'd be with them," Duo said. "It wouldn't be a risk if we're together. And Heero would come, too." He turned to send a quick look at Heero, expecting an immediate nod. The boy was raising an eyebrow at him. Duo felt as if the floor dropped out from under him. "Wouldn't you...? I won't let anyone take Shi-chan away from me. And if this helps the earth, then of course we'd go, right?"  
  
"Don't be so quick to decide things," Heero said, frowning at the boy.  
  
Duo paled and shifted away, standing so they were eye-level. "Then I'll just go without you. I can fight on my own, I've done it for years. If that's how you-"  
  
"You're not going by yourself." Heero shook his head, not quite wincing at Duo's reaction. "And that's not what I meant. Unless this Reikai decides we'd be useful, then no one will be going anywhere. And no, I wouldn't let anyone take Wing or Shinigami. The first person to try would regret it." His words earned him a bright smile and a warm embrace from Duo. He nearly flushed at the instant urge to hold onto the happy boy. "Calm down," he muttered, looking away.  
  
"Heh, right." Duo turned back to Kurama, who'd been easing his way toward the door. "You can't leave yet," he called. He smirked when the redhead sent him a wary look. "So this Koenma guy is in charge of the Reikai, right? How would I talk to him?"  
  
"He's rather busy right now," Kurama said slowly. "But usually he either comes to you or sends one of his messengers if he has something to tell you. To talk to him, you'd have to go to the Reikai."  
  
"And where's that?"  
  
"It's..." Kurama felt a bead of sweat break out on his brow, and he sent a furtive glance at Hiei. He'd never tried to explain the nature of the Reikai, and didn't know where to start. His friend had a familiar expression on his face, but it wasn't a helpful one. It was a certain sly smirk that told him Hiei was still smarting over the way Kurama had reproached him earlier. The small demon spoke before Kurama could stop him.  
  
"I'll take you."  
  
Duo blinked in surprise at having the offer come from Hiei, but he wasn't about to turn it down. "Thanks."  
  
"I'm coming with you."  
  
Kurama had spoken at the same moment Heero did, and the two looked at each other in surprise and suspicion. Duo and Hiei both raised their eyebrows.  
  
Hiei sniffed. "You can't," he said sharply. "You have to return the shards to that girl."  
  
"We should probably take Wing and Shi-chan with us," Duo said. He was looking at Heero, and he smiled when the boy nodded. With a quick thanks to Hilde, he retrieved the two seemingly dead cats. The fact that they barely twitched at being moved made him frown in concern. "Hey, Kurama. I thought you said they'd be fine. Why are they still sleeping?"  
  
Kurama frowned at the distraction. "Shock, and dreams. Hiei gave them an impulse when he touched them. That combined with the thought of their dormant forms would make their minds turn back to push at the memories they've blocked out. I countered it as well as I could, but they're too vulnerable in their animal forms. They'll have an urge to be stronger, and to get that, they'll have to remember what they are. I told you they could be dreaming for the next few days." He started to turn back, but Duo caught his arm.  
  
"They're going to sleep for days?!"  
  
"No," Hiei said. "Shake them, they'll wake up."  
  
"No," Kurama agreed. "But when they do doze off they're likely to go straight into deep dream states."  
  
Duo handed Wing to Heero and tested Hiei's advice with a not too gentle shake. Shinigami promptly growled in annoyance and gave a wide-mouthed yawn. "You sleep like the dead," Duo sighed. "I was worried about you."  
  
"Mm..." Shinigami shifted out of Duo's hold and curled up on the boy's shoulder. It wasn't until he caught sight of the two behind them that he really woke up. He bristled.  
  
"You missed the entire discussion," Duo frowned. "I guess we can recap it for you on the way."  
  
"Way where?" Shinigami asked. He ducked back off Duo's shoulder so he was in the boy's arms instead, blocking him from sight of both Kurama and Hiei. Heero moved toward them, and he lifted his head to twitch an ear at Wing. The white cat was giving him the strangest look. "What?"  
  
Wing's eyes narrowed and he stared harder at the familiar black cat. "In my dream, you had red eyes."  
  
Kurama gave a sharp look at the cat, his tone cool. "Are you sure it was him you dreamed of?"  
  
The redhead was challenging him with that question, though he'd obviously come to his own conclusion. Wing ignored him, staring at Shinigami as he tried to recall his dream. The green-eyed cat was beginning to look worried when he finally gave up. "I don't know," Wing muttered, shifting in Heero's arms. "The eyes are wrong, but it was definitely him."  
  
"Was it a memory?" Duo asked, his gaze shifting between the two cats. "Do you think you knew each other before?"  
  
"No," Shinigami said sharply. "I don't believe that." The boy holding him looked surprised and he shook his head. "I never knew him."  
  
Duo glanced over at Kurama, but the redhead didn't offer any help. In fact, his eyes were shuttered, his expression almost completely blank. Duo looked back down to the black cat he'd known for so long. "Do you remember what you dreamed of?" Shinigami shifted, ears turning up at him.  
  
"You," Shinigami said, "and other things that I can't remember. But I'm sure I never met Wing before we came here." He frowned over at the white cat, his ears tilting back to show his displeasure.  
  
Wing scowled in return, his own ears mimicking that backward tilt. "I never said it was a memory," he muttered. "Just a strange dream."  
  
"Well," Duo said slowly, "if you guys keep dreaming you'll probably remember eventually. In the meantime, we're going to take you to see someone." The two cats turned to look at him, and he gave a quick smile. "It seems a bunch of demons are going to destroy the world, so we're going to help stop them."  
  
Hiei snorted, a wry smile curving his lips. "Right. Let's go." He took a step toward the door and stopped, raising an eyebrow at the one blocking his way. "No need to protest," he murmured to Kurama. "Return the shards. I'll be back by the time you're finished."  
  
Kurama raised his voice without looking over at the two humans closest to them. "Excuse us for a moment."  
  
The two went outside, and Duo had a strong urge to peak after them. He wouldn't put it past them to just disappear. Besides that, he wanted to know why Kurama was so set against their going to the Reikai when Hiei had been the one who didn't want them to help in the first place. Or was it that he didn't want Hiei going? That didn't make much sense either. A light hand touched his shoulder, and Duo turned to find Hilde standing behind him with a troubled look on her face.  
  
"We're strongest when we work together," Hilde said slowly. "I know you're stronger than the rest of us, but I don't think you should go somewhere so dangerous alone. Even with Heero, the two of you don't have any defense. Your powers center entirely on offense."  
  
"Yeah," Duo shrugged, "but they're our cats. Besides that, I doubt Kurama would appreciate all of us tagging along. And then there's the town. If demons really do come here trying to destroy the gate, then you guys will have your hands full keeping them off."  
  
"Quatre has a defense." Hilde let that hang for a moment, but Duo didn't get what she was aiming at. "And I have a defense. One of us should go with you. Since Quatre is stronger than me, he'd be needed here more, to even out the rest of the team that stays behind." She knew the moment the boy understood what she was pushing. Duo's expression darkened.  
  
"You're not going with us," Duo said. "It's too dangerous."  
  
"Too dangerous for me, but not for you." The boy had the gall to smile and nod cheerfully. Hilde scowled, all hesitance blown. "That's crap, Duo, and you know it. I've been practicing my shield for the last two weeks, nothing gets through it now. Dorothy and Catherine both tried with everything they had. Don't tell me it's too dangerous for me but not you, when you don't even have a way to block attacks. You may have more stamina than the rest of us, but your defense sucks!"  
  
For such an intelligent and quiet girl to spit the word 'sucks' at him came as a slight shocker to Duo. That she was insulting him was just as bad. But the fact that he couldn't seem to find his tongue quickly enough to form a response was worse. He glowered at her, not sure what to say to that. And Dorothy laughed at him from her place behind them.  
  
"It's true, you know," Dorothy smirked. "If we were to split into two functioning teams, we'd have Heero head one, and you the other. Since you're both going, it makes things more complicated. In that case, you don't need anything more than someone to act as your defender - you have more than enough offensive power. As for the rest of us, the combined power should be enough to let us hold our ground. And Quatre's pretty good with blocking. Since we'd have more moving targets we won't need a solid defender as much as two people would." Duo was shaking his head at her, and she turned away from him sharply, her gaze snapping to Heero. "Besides that, you won't be going alone whether Hilde goes or not."  
  
Heero frowned at this, something about the girl's glittering gaze making him decidedly wary. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Cathy is working on a healing tap, between the two of us, we can heal most minor wounds." Dorothy smirked at the look of surprise that flashed over Heero's face. "We didn't try anything serious, but bruises, cuts, burns, all healed with just a little focus and energy. That gives the home team a healer as well as a defender. But that's when Cathy and I both work together. There's only one who can heal all by herself. She'll be going with you, so I think you'll be grateful to have Hilde going as well."  
  
A dark foreboding swept over Heero, the hairs on the back of his neck rising in as he felt movement behind him. He nearly groaned in disbelief. "Not-"  
  
Cathy nodded solemnly. "Relena."  
  
"No," Duo said sharply. The word got out before he realized how loudly he'd said it, but he couldn't help how vigorously he shook his head. "No way. It's too dangerous to have anyone go with us." And he sure as hell didn't want Relena tagging along. Even if they were going to some dangerous demon-filled place, it was still a chance to be alone with Heero. He might have agreed to have Hilde come with them, since she seemed to have accepted that he didn't like her as anything but a friend. But not Relena. Absolutely not.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," Relena smiled. She'd stood back and hid her smile while Cathy and Dorothy talked about their healing powers, but now she moved forward to where she could beam directly at Heero. Dorothy had been the one to convince her not to mention that new talent, and she was glad she'd agreed. It wasn't like her to keep quiet when she did something that made her stand out, but it was worth the startled look on Heero's usually impassive face. The boy looked younger like that, and very very cute. "Hilde can defend me the same as she would you," she said to Heero. "And I'll be the healer. I'm sure it will make a marvelously functional team."  
  
"No."  
  
Quatre sighed from his place on the couch. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy for Heero to accept, but if the girls really had found some sort of healing talents, then that made them indispensable. Separated into two groups, it really would be best to have the defenders and healers go with each so neither one was lacking in that department. With a wary expression, he told Heero just as much. And he received a sharp glare in return that made him lean further back onto the couch. He was grateful to the warm arm Trowa moved over his shoulders.  
  
"There's no point getting angry about it," Trowa said, his tone unyielding. Unlike Quatre, he wasn't the least bit bothered by Heero's semi-murderous glare. "As you said, we don't know if you'll be going anywhere, so any plans we make now are subject to change. But if you do go, then you have to take every precaution to assure that our team doesn't lose any of its force. That means having as much of each area as possible - offense and defense. And if they've managed it, healing."  
  
"You don't have many options," Wufei commented. He fully understood how disgusted and angry Heero was at the thought of having the girls along. The fact that the females seemed to have gotten all of the defensive abilities made the rest of them reliant. Aside from Quatre's slicing blades, and his own staff, they had nothing that protected themselves. Only Hilde had managed to work a functioning shield. And healing...if they really had mastered some sort of healing power, then it was obvious how the energies were allotted. To make up for their offensive strength, the girls were powered with the aspects of defense. It made it nigh impossible to deny their place in the group.  
  
Wufei shook his head, still watching the anger that flickered on Heero's face, making his dark-eyed friend nearly twitch. "Defense - either you take Quatre, or you take Hilde. If you took Quatre, you'd have to take Trowa. I seriously doubt he'd let Quatre go without him." A sidelong look found this confirmed, and his eyebrow twitched when Trowa tightened the arm he had around his blonde friend. Wufei was resigned to the two of them, but he didn't want to watch it. He snapped his gaze back to Heero. "If the two of them went with you, the remaining force would be me and Dorothy - not nearly enough considering you would also have to take either Relena, or Dorothy and Catherine. That leaves either two or three people here. Obviously that won't work."  
  
What was obvious was that the rest of them supported the notion of Relena and Hilde going with them. Heero's eyebrows lowered until his glare was a dark blue sheen of danger, aimed directly at Wufei since the boy continued to speak.  
  
"So you take Hilde and Relena, leaving Quatre here for defense, and the girls for healing. Five of us, four of you."  
  
"Six."  
  
Wufei blinked at the sharp voice that contradicted him, and he found himself staring down into mismatched eyes. Wing had leapt up onto the arm of his chair and was staring up at him with distinct distaste. "You can't count yourself," Wufei sniffed.  
  
"And why not?" Wing challenged. "The whole point in going is because Shi-chan and I are demons, right? Do you really thing we'll be powerless once we recall our dormant forms?"  
  
"You didn't get to hear what Kurama said," Wufei reminded him. "He said you might be able to resume those forms, but that you could have too weak a strand to be able to shift. It depends on your lineage. Regardless, he never said anything about either of you having power in your forms, just that they would be humanoid in appearance."  
  
Duo frowned, holding Shinigami closer to his chest as he took insult on his behalf. "Kurama also said they were powerful for familiars. Earlier when Wing scratched me, he said it was dangerous from such a strong familiar. If a little thing like that is dangerous, I'm sure they'll be great once they remember what they are."  
  
Silence held for a long moment before Wing turned to give a wide-eyed look at Heero. The dark-haired boy was gifting him with a very deadly gaze. "It was an accident," Wing said quickly. "I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"It's nothing," Duo agreed. He waved a hand at his shoulder and parted the cloth of his shirt so the tears were evident, a white bandage visible through the gaps. "Doesn't hurt a bit, and it stopped bleeding almost immediately. Besides, it was Kurama's fault, him and Hiei. They scared them."  
  
Wing winced and ducked his head in embarrassment. Then Wufei let out a snort, and he turned to glare up at the boy. "It wasn't funny," Wing bristled. "He was radiating so much hostility I thought he was going to tear my head off and he hadn't even touched me yet. Plus he was attacking Shi-chan. I couldn't just sit there and wait for them to get to me."  
  
Shinigami had also ducked his head, and Duo frowned down at the black cat. "Just what exactly did they do to you guys, anyway? What scared you so much?"  
  
"They knew what we were from the moment they saw us," Shinigami muttered. "They didn't think we could understand them or talk or anything, so they weren't careful what they said. We knew that if they touched us, they'd realize we were smart enough to be a danger to them."  
  
"So that's why you didn't want Kurama to pet you," Duo said. "I figured something must have happened to make you guys so nervous. But what happened when they did touch you? I've never heard you make sounds like that." His cat burrowed against him, hiding his face. Duo blinked in surprise and glanced over to see Wing hunching his shoulders in the same sort of embarrassed urge to make himself smaller. "Come on."  
  
"They're demons," Wing mumbled, his nose pressed close to his front legs. "You can really feel that when they touch you. Powerful, dangerous. And Kurama is about as possessive as Heero, but scarier." Heero gave him a funny look, and he sniffed. "You just grumbled when you were jealous of me hanging on Duo. You never gave off so much threatening energy that I thought you were going to skin me alive."  
  
Shinigami shivered, nodding in agreement. "Completely uncalled for. We never touched him, he was the one who touched us."  
  
"Canines," Wing growled, bristling as he hunched tighter over his bent legs. "Snappy possessive dog types."  
  
Duo stared for a long moment before letting out a laugh at the two of them. "You're talking about Kurama! How did you know? You guys were out cold when he was in his fox form."  
  
"It's in his energy," Wing muttered. "When someone shoves that much power at you, it's pretty obvious. The same way he knew how strong we were just by touching us, he told us what he was." He wrinkled his face in distaste, growling a little. "Like a dumb dog hoarding his food."  
  
  
  
"Now that's uncalled for." Kurama raised an eyebrow when the others turned to stare at him, but his gaze was directed at the white cat. Wing jumped to his feet, the fur on the back of his neck bristling wildly. "A fox is far more intelligent than a dog, especially a youko. And I'll have you know that I'm quite happy to share my food."  
  
"Still canine," Wing muttered. But his voice had dropped some. He couldn't help wanting to move to some place where those eyes couldn't see him. "Marking your territory."  
  
A loud snort sounded behind Kurama, and the redhead twitched, glowering at the cat. "How crude." The teens were staring at him and he cleared his throat, pointedly ignoring Wing, and the amusement radiating from the little demon behind him. "We're going to return the shards now. If you still want to see Koenma, you can come with us. We'll take you to the Reikai afterward."  
  
"Great," Duo said quickly. He wiped the confused look off his face and replaced it with a smile. "We were talking to the girls about this, though. If two of them were to go along with us, would they need to get this Koenma guy's permission as well?"  
  
"The fewer people the better," Kurama frowned. "I can't stress enough how dangerous the past is. But yes, anyone who wants to go with us will need to be cleared with Koenma first. We won't accept anyone he hasn't given permission to. If anything goes wrong, it'll be on his head, and not ours."  
  
"Well you're pessimistic," Dorothy sniffed, "aren't you."  
  
"It's not nice, but I'm afraid it's true." Kurama shook his head at the blonde girl, his expression solemn. "If a human dies during this, and the blame is placed on Hiei or I, then the entire mission will be shot. We'll be imprisoned immediately. Not even Koenma can counter the punishment if a demon kills a human, not unless he can revive the human. And currently the Reikai doesn't have the power to do that."  
  
"No one's going to die anyway." Duo frowned and waved a hand at Dorothy. "Don't be so gloomy."  
  
"Well, then," Kurama said. "If you're coming, I'd like to head out immediately."  
  
Duo turned and smiled when he saw Wing shift out of that hissy pose. The white cat hopped over to him, curling in his arms next to Shinigami. He was curious why they didn't get on his shoulders like usual, but didn't ask. Heero joined him when they started for the door. Then Relena bounded over as well, Hilde a few steps behind. Duo got a sinking feeling in his gut as they followed Kurama and Hiei outside. Hilde would be okay to have around, but Relena? He could just imagine the harping they were in for.  
  
* * *  
  
TBC 


	4. Invalid Mikos and Infant Godlings

Category: Anime, GW fusion with SM, GW-IY-YYH crossover, Yaoi  
  
Warnings: slight shonen ai at worst  
  
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, Inuyasha-Miroku and the canon Relena-1, Hilde-2, Kagome-Inuyasha  
  
Author: Arigatomina  
  
Email: arigatoumina(a)hotmail.com  
  
Website / Complete Archive: www.geocities.com / arigatomina  
  
Heart of Darkness  
  
Part 4: Invalid Mikos and Infant Godlings  
  
Returning the shards was a little more complicated than Kurama had made it out to be. The main issue was how to get the tainted shards to her. If she'd been hunting shards in the past, she must have the ability to see them, so she'd immediately spot the one they planned to keep. While Kurama fully intended to tell her their plans, he wanted to wait until they were in the past and she wouldn't be able to refuse her help. They couldn't do that if she took back the shard he'd taken from her earlier. And since Hiei would never agree to being separated from his teargem, he couldn't deliver the tainted ones himself. He'd have to wait where Kagome wouldn't see him and whatever glow the shard gave off.  
  
The tree they'd met at earlier served well enough for a waiting spot, and Kurama drew the humans to join them under it. "I'm going to have to take the shards myself, so if you want to wait here, that would be best. Relena could come with me if she likes, since Kagome won't be surprised to see the two of us visit a second time today. But it might seem strange if the rest of you came as well."  
  
Relena sent a slow look at Heero before shaking her head. "I'd rather wait here."  
  
She didn't like him anymore. That thought made Kurama smirk, and he nodded at the girl. "All right, then. I don't think it will take long. If all goes well, her family will be there, so I can deliver them without giving her a chance to ask that many questions."  
  
Hiei's eyes narrowed, and he sent Kurama a challenging look. "You plan to deliver these?" He'd lifted his sword free, nodding to the glints in the hilt. "With or without the sword?"  
  
"Without," Kurama said quickly. "I can't go up to her with a weapon in hand, especially one so unusual as that."  
  
"Then you're planning to carry them." Hiei stared for a long moment before smirking, a glint off one white fang catching the fading daylight. "This should be good."  
  
Duo's gaze shifted from Hiei, over to Kurama, then back again. "Um, didn't you say the tainted ones were dangerous?"  
  
"Yes," Kurama admitted. He was frowning at Hiei's mocking expression, and he turned to include Duo in that. "But it's worth a try. Hiei can't do this or she'll see his shard, and we don't want her to realize we have one of them. I suppose one of you might be safer, but I don't really know what sort of effect a tainted shard might have on a human."  
  
"Right," Hiei smirked, holding the blade of his sword so the hilt was offered to Kurama. "Let's see your self control, fox."  
  
The two cats in Duo's arms shifted a bit, their ears perked forward with interest, and Duo raised an eyebrow at the way Wing's tail was twitching merrily. Whatever joke Hiei had planned, he could almost swear the cats were in on it. Kurama merely looked at the offered shards, his expression droll and giving off an aura of irritation. Then he sniffed and plucked both pieces free, closing them in the palm of his right hand. The effect was instantaneous.  
  
Wing and Shinigami pressed closer to Duo as if avoiding some sort of wave that ruffled their fur, though they continued to show amusement. Kurama's eyes widened, then narrowed, turning a mottled mix of gold and green, and his red hair flickered with bits of silver, lifting and falling as if he were standing in a light breeze that didn't quite touch anyone else. Kurama abruptly groaned and tossed the pieces away, Hiei catching them with a quiet laugh.  
  
Glowering at the amusement directed at him, Kurama shook his head. "It is not funny."  
  
"Yes it is," Hiei smirked. His headband was glowing green again, but otherwise he didn't seem to be affected by the shards he held. "You're too volatile. You can barely touch me without turning youko, did you really think you could hold these and retain that form? Let one of the humans take them, you're not competent to do it."  
  
That insult definitely prickled Kurama's pride, judging by the quiet growl he gave. And the wry smile on Hiei's face was one that made Duo decidedly uncomfortable. If he'd wondered about the two of them before, he had no doubt now. Kurama looked to be a few seconds away from pouncing, and Duo could have sworn Hiei was enticing him to do just that. He cleared his throat nervously, drawing their attention. "I'll take them if you want. I don't know Kagome, but she probably noticed you were at our table today, so it wouldn't be too strange."  
  
"Do the tainted ones have a bad effect on humans?" Hilde asked worriedly. "It might be dangerous."  
  
"So long as you don't try to tap them it should be fine," Kurama answered. His eyes were still narrow, but he managed a weak smile for the girl. "If they're wrapped in something I don't think it would make much difference." Turning back to Hiei, he gave a disapproving frown, shaking his head as he pulled a small bit of cloth out of his vest. "Here."  
  
Hiei continued to smirk as he caught the cloth and wrapped the two shards. The tainted pieces might have pushed Kurama's self control, but his taunts were just as powerful. He rather liked having that effect on the fox. It served as a nice payback for ruining his fun earlier. Duo was watching him, and he handed the small bundle to the boy, watching carefully to see if it had an adverse effect on him. After a moment of waiting, it seemed to be safe enough.  
  
"They don't feel powerful," Duo commented, lifting his hand to look at it. "They just feel cold, or maybe hot, it tingles my palm. Sort of a queasy feeling, really."  
  
"It shouldn't hurt you," Kurama said. "If you're willing, we can go now. And thank you for offering."  
  
"No problem," Duo smirked.  
  
"Just leave the familiars before they bite your hand off."  
  
Duo's eyes widened and he looked down, blanching when he saw the way Wing and Shinigami were staring at his palm. They definitely looked like they were ravenous and the little bundle was the first food they'd seen in weeks. He shivered and handed the cats over to Hilde with wide eyes. "Why don't you hold them for me."  
  
Kurama smirked, shaking his head at Duo's wary expression. "Don't worry, they're just feeling the same impulse any demon would from being so close to these shards. They can't really help it, especially in their dormant forms."  
  
Wing blinked suddenly, shaking his head. "So strong..."  
  
"They are," Hiei said. "So keep your distance from them in the future." The white cat turned to look at him, and he smirked at the way Kurama bristled. He raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "What are you waiting for?"  
  
"We'll be right back," Kurama sniffed.  
  
As it turned out, they didn't get to speak to Kagome in person. Where Kurama had hoped her family would be there to save him from answering any pointed questions, he hadn't expected the girl to be isolated in her room, all visitors denied. A bit of concerned prodding found that she'd suffered at least some injury from the attack, a broken leg. The news left Kurama cursing and spitting inside, though the old man who'd answered the door had no idea from his seemingly sympathetic expression. With a sad smile, Kurama explained that he'd found some items he thought were Kagome's and wished to return them. Duo shot him a sharp look when he made no mention of the jar. Instead, he nodded to the cloth-wrapped tainted ones. The old man must have had some magic of his own, from the way he stumbled over his words after accepting the bundle. But he didn't ask any questions, and Kurama didn't offer any information. Minutes later the two of them were on their way back to the others.  
  
"Why didn't you give him the jar?" Duo frowned, walking a bit quicker to keep up with the redhead's long-legged stride. "Wasn't that the point, so she could keep them pure?"  
  
"If her leg really is broken, then giving these to her would be inviting another theft," Kurama said. His eyes were sharp and narrow, and he was still fuming inside. "I don't believe she can travel through the portal without the shards, but if it was an excuse, then our time is shorter than we thought. Regardless, with those two tainted ones she can get through to the past. The only question is whether or not she's too injured to travel. If she is, then we'll have to do this without her."  
  
"But you said she was needed to purify the shards," Duo said. "Can you collect them if they're all tainted?"  
  
Kurama's teeth gnashed, and he shook his head sharply. "I don't know. If we have to, we'll collect them and return here to get them purified. We don't have time to wait for a broken bone to be healed, and the only person I know capable of healing her is not to be involved in this. She should never have kept the shards on her person if she were incapable of guarding them."  
  
The tone was icy, enough so that Duo found himself increasing the space between them. He was relieved when they returned to the others, more than glad to take up a safer spot next to Heero. Kurama wasted no time giving the bad news in a few sharp words to Hiei. Then he was shaking his head at the humans.  
  
"It's a set back," Kurama said, his voice calming some. "But we can't hesitate because of this. If you still want to be involved, we'll go to see Koenma now. Know, though, that this will make our search for the shards more dangerous, having to keep tainted ones in our possession, rather than getting them purified immediately. It does, however, mean that Koemna is more likely to accept your help. We'll need someone who can spot the shards." He nodded to Heero with a solemn look. "Play that card when you meet him, it's your best shot at gaining his approval."  
  
"So where is this Reikai?" Duo asked. "You never did say, earlier."  
  
"It's another dimension, another plain." Kurama shook his head as he pulled a small compact from his vest, flicking it open. "Think of it as a skyscraper with multiple levels. At the bottom are the levels of the Makai, middle is the Ningenkai, top, the Reikai. But it isn't some invisible place in the sky, it's a true overlaying dimension in itself. Just accept that it exists. There's little point in trying to understand how they've set it up."  
  
The redhead was typing something, and Duo stood on his toes a bit to see the thing he held. Sure enough, it looked more like a tiny computer than the makeup compact he'd thought it was. Kurama pressed a few buttons and snapped it closed, sliding it back into his vest.   
  
"Can you open doors to this other dimension, then?" Duo asked.  
  
"Not normally," Kurama said. "It's illegal to break into the Reikai. Though I could if I chose to, there's no need to add to our crimes. I've sent a call in, one of the ferry girls will lead us through." He nodded over at Hiei. "Probably Botan."  
  
Hiei sniffed, his face twisting in distaste. "If she offers you another ride on her oar, I'm going to hit her over the head with it."  
  
"Be nice," Kurama laughed. "She's still more human than anything, so she can't help her reaction."  
  
Duo didn't understand what the demons were talking about, so he kept his gaze shifting around them. "How long will it take this ferry girl to get here?" He might as well have saved his breath. No sooner had he spoken than his ears popped, and he blinked to find a person a few feet above them where clear sky had been a moment before. She had pale blue hair that was pulled back into a long, bushy pony tail, and pale pink robes. The pastels weren't nearly as unusual as the strange oar she was riding, in a sidesaddle position that made Duo raise an eyebrow. He wanted to ask how she stayed on the thing, but he might as well ask how she was floating it above the ground as if she were some witch on a broomstick.  
  
"Ohayo, Kurama-kun!" The girl beamed, her gaze on Kurama. She was waving her hand as if he couldn't see her perfectly well.  
  
"Botan," Kurama smiled, his eyes flicking to the side to take in Hiei's sneer. The ferry girl started to lower her oar, only catching sight of the others once she was on her feet.  
  
"Oh!" Botan gasped, her pale blue eyes widening on the four humans. "They're...did you see...?"  
  
"They're human," Kurama nodded, "but they know about us and our mission. They want to help, in return for a favor from Koenma. That's why I called you, so you could take us to see him."  
  
Botan stared at the humans for a long moment before turning a disapproving look on the redhead. "You weren't supposed to involve the local people," she said, shaking her head. "Koenma-sama will not like this one bit."  
  
"I know," Kurama said. "Unfortunately, we've had a setback and their help may be the only way we can accomplish our mission. If you'll take us there, I'm prepared to explain to Koenma." His expression turned into a light, teasing smile. "Don't worry, I won't let him yell at you. You'd just be doing what I asked you to do."  
  
"He still won't like it," Botan fretted, tugging on a bit of her hair as she sent another look at the four. "I'm not supposed to take regular ningens to the Reikai. And he's so busy right now...he's going to be really unhappy with this."  
  
"Just do it," Hiei sniffed. "Or I'll take them myself." A sharp look hit him, but he pointedly ignored Kurama. His dark red eyes stared hard at Botan and the ferry girl abruptly paled. She might be friendlier than ever with Kurama, but she was still more than a little intimidated by him. And for good reason. "I'm in a hurry," he warned, his eyes glinting.  
  
Botan shivered, hopping onto her oar so she could put a little more distance between her and the volatile demon. "R-right," she said quickly. She waved a hand at the four teens, giving them a weak smile. "Ano...if you'll just stand together, I'll open a passage for us. You just walk in and it'll take us all to the Reikai."  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow when the girl promptly moved her hand, doing something that he couldn't see the significance of. Whatever she'd done, it seemed to have worked. The air in front of her shimmered and opened in a sort of bubble, the inside a startling mix of moving colors. Without a word for it, he thought it was what a vortex might look like. The two demons nodded to them before stepping in and Heero waited till Hilde and Duo followed. Relena was sticking close to his side, so he had to proceed her before she'd enter the suspicious thing. The moment they were all inside, with the open bubble giving them a shot of tree they'd left behind, the blue-haired girl smiled at them. Then the bubble closed and the colors changed.  
  
It was one of the most disorienting experiences Duo had ever been through and all they did was stand still. As if they were standing in some cylinder, the walls flowed past them, the colors mixing in a way that made his stomach flip. The ferry girl, Botan, was seated on her oar, and the moving walls gave her an appearance of flying rapidly. But she never got any further away from the rest of them. Duo shook his head and glanced over at Hilde to see how she was taking the strange travel. He quickly smirked at her pale face and reached his hands out to take the cats. She didn't look like she could hold them and keep her balance at the same time. The two cats had their ears back, but their eyes were closed, no doubt keeping them from feeling out of sorts.  
  
Heero had come into the strange place after him, and Duo glanced back to check his status. He immediately wished he hadn't. Relena had her face pressed to Heero's back, hiding her eyes, but also getting close enough to the boy that Duo wanted to rip her away. The only thing that kept him from it was the resigned, slightly nauseated expression on Heero's face. Duo caught his gaze and gave the boy a sympathetic wince.  
  
Since she'd never taken normal, unprepared humans to the Reikai, Botan took them directly inside. She had an idea it would be better if they didn't have to walk through the crowded halls. They might know about Kurama and Hiei being demons, but she doubted they would take the sight of dozens of oni very well. Those large, simple-minded demons didn't look nearly as human as Kurama did. Besides that, the quicker she got them to Koenma's office, the quicker she could hide behind the door where he couldn't yell at her. She just knew he was going to be mad about the interruption, not to mention the involvement of humans in what was supposed to be a Reikai matter. Kurama caught her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile, and she found herself drifting a bit closer to him. He might have been gorgeous before, but now he was so...dreamy...  
  
Hiei growled the moment their feet set down in the room outside Koenma's office. With a sharp, dangerous look, he sent Botan scurrying back a few feet. The ferry girl abruptly turned business-like, hiding her oar away and knocking smartly on the large door. A few seconds later, a large head peaked out, George's eyes widening as he saw her.  
  
"They need to talk to Koenma," Botan said, her voice quiet so hopefully it wouldn't carry inside the office. The oni nodded at her and she ducked back so the others would enter without her being spotted. A choking sound reached her before George pulled the doors shut behind them.  
  
"What is this?!" Koenma demanded, his mouth falling open as he nearly fell out of his chair. The pacifier he was slowly recharging almost dropped out of his open mouth, and he quickly closed it. "Kurama, explain."  
  
Stepping ahead of the humans, Kurama nodded. "A demon attacked us and these four came to our aid. Relena, Heero, Duo, and Hilde," he introduced. "And the two cats are familiars, Wing and Shinigami. From what we can tell, they could both be B class demons or higher." That did it. Koenma's flabbergasted expression turned into one of suspicion. "In return for helping us, and the Reikai, they want to keep their familiars here with them. They're willing to go to the past with us to prove that they and their familiars can be trusted. And," he said, raising his voice when it looked like Koenma would interrupt, "we need their help. Kagome was injured in the attack so we need someone who will be able to spot the shards. Heero has that ability."  
  
"What about the rest of them?" Koenma scowled. He stood on his chair, staring hard at the four teens. "Their reiki is very low."  
  
"It's not," Hiei sniffed. "They hide it."  
  
"We don't hide it," Duo frowned, "it just doesn't show till we transform." The baby turned to look at him, and he felt a drop of sweat break out on his forehead. Koenma looked just like a one year old infant, complete with the round pacifier that bobbed in his mouth. His high pitched voice had complimented the appearance and Duo couldn't for the life of him figure out how this guy could be the leader.   
  
Koenma raised an eyebrow, leaning over his table as he stared at the longhaired boy in rising interest. "Transform? What do you transform into? You don't have latent demon blood, do you?"  
  
"No," Kurama said quickly. "From what they've told us, they tap into the power of planets in this solar system." Wide brown eyes flicked to him, and he gave a smirk, shrugging lightly. "I can't find any other explanation for the power they have."  
  
"Planets," Koenma murmured, dropping his chin to rest on one chubby fist. "Power from planets?"  
  
"They're S class," Hiei spat, not looking at any of them.  
  
"Surely not," Koenma sputtered. "They'd never be able to suppress that much power!"  
  
Kurama nodded to Heero, catching the boy's dark gaze. "You'll have to show him yourselves."  
  
Since Heero didn't look particularly enthusiastic about that, Duo took the honors. He stepped forward to give what he hoped was an impartial smile to the toddler. There was little chance he could fake respect for someone who looked like a chubby infant, godling or not. "Duo," he said brightly, "and my planet is Saturn."  
  
The boy closed his eyes, and Koenma leaned forward in his seat, almost reaching out to feel the energy being tapped. It wasn't that the boy had repressed his energy. Rather, he'd been an empty container that was now being refilled. Koenma's gaze shifted away from the violet glow obscuring Duo and glanced at Hiei. This wasn't too different from what happened when the demon absorbed the kokoryuuha. The only question was whether or not this 'power of Saturn' was an intelligent entity. It felt like pure energy, particular to the human it was flowing into. He wasn't borrowing energy so much as reclaiming a stock of his own that had been stored elsewhere. And as old as he was, Koenma had never heard of such a thing.  
  
The violet light dissipated to reveal a dark outfit of the same shade, complete with a long black cape. A silver cross glinted from his neck, where the shirt opened in a slight V, and black fingerless gloves shown beneath the ruffles that ended the long sleeves. His hair was now loose, falling down to the back of his knees, the rich mahogany color brightened by the black headdress that partially covered it, ending near his shoulders and just above his bangs. A dark violet band kept it in place. But as unusual as his outfit was, the weapon was what drew Koenma's gaze. The boy was holding a black staff taller than himself, one that ended in a dark, violet-edged scythe.   
  
"D-death...!"  
  
Koenma jerked around, scowling at the frightened oni cowering in the corner of his office. George had been standing quietly, but now he was waving a shaky finger at Duo, completely oblivious to the boy's confused expression. "Shut up," Koenma groaned. "Go file something." The big demon shivered and hurried out of the room, sticking close the wall and watching Duo as if the boy would smite him if he dared to turn his back. Once the door closed behind him, Koenma sighed and shook his head. "It's so hard to find good help these days. Mixing up Death and Destruction..."  
  
"Destruction?" Hiei straightened, sending a sharp look at Duo. He'd moved away when the boy transformed, and he still didn't come any closer. He folded his arms with a dark glare. "He's too young to be Silence."  
  
"But that legend could have base in fact," Kurama murmured, easing a bit forward so he was directly between Hiei and Duo. The human was simply letting off far too much reiki. "Only it wouldn't explain the others."  
  
"What are you guys talking about?" Duo asked. He turned to frown at Kurama, noting curiously that Hiei's shoulders were hunched just as they'd been the last time he transformed. The only thing missing was the sword and the growl. "And why are you acting like that?" he muttered crossly.  
  
"Later." Koenma waved, his eyes gleaming with a mad light that would have sent George cowering if he'd still been in the room. "Let's see the rest of you before we jump to conclusions."  
  
Duo turned to look at Heero, not quite loosing his irritated frown. "Well?" he prompted. The boy sniffed at him, not bothering to announce his planet before transforming. Though he'd seen it before, Duo couldn't help the appreciative smile that spread over his face as that dark blue light faded away to reveal the boy once more. Heero's hand automatically shifted to rest on the hilt of the straight sword hanging at his waist, the ivory chain bright in the well lit room. Unlike Duo, his dark blue clothing brought out the color of his bare arms, the black fingerless gloves prominent and - Duo thought - sexy as hell. The ivory band around his forehead and matching cape gave him a medieval, princely appearance, as did his high white boots, bright against the dark blue lining of that long cape. Dark blue eyes flicked over to Duo, and he grinned at Heero's quirked, questioning eyebrow. He carefully refrained from telling Heero how good he looked, not in front of the others.  
  
That infant 'god' was watching them, and Duo nodded to him. "Heero's planet is Earth. As far as we can tell, the colors of our powers and clothing match the types of attacks we have. But Heero uses white, so he's an exception." He turned to smile at Hilde, giving the girl a nod so she moved forward a bit. "Hilde, though, she uses an element - water."  
  
Duo had never really seen one of the girls transform, so he was as curious as the others. Unlike his own power, Hilde seemed to call forth a colored wind that swept up from her feet, rifling her dark bluish black hair before wrapping her in a bluish glow that hid her from view. A moment later it seemed to burst outward, with sparkles of color that matched her short skirt. Dark blue boots reached nearly to her knees, a gap of pale leg before the overly short skirt. Duo's face warmed a bit as he'd honestly never realized the girls had such short skirts. Compared to his and Heero's clothing, the girls were at a serious disadvantage. He was almost tempted to offer her his cape so she wouldn't look so...naked. The large paler blue bow over her breasts were at least more covering, and her long white gloves helped to make up for the lack of sleeves, those thin dark blue sleeves hardly worthy of the name.  
  
Reaching a hand up to finger the silver crown that came to a slight v over her forehead, Hilde addressed the godling. Koenma was giving her a wide smile, and infant or not, it made her want to tug on the bottom edge of her skirt. "Mercury is my planet. The other girls - the ones who aren't here, are Mars and Jupiter. We represent the inner planets, aside from Heero. I guess Earth is the exception."  
  
"I," Relena said, stepping forward with her chin lifted, "represent Venus. But I don't have an element-based attack. My specialty is healing more than anything." She turned shy eyes on Heero, trying to catch his gaze so he'd be watching when she transformed.  
  
After Hilde, Relena's transformation was expected and not watched as closely. Neither Duo nor Heero particularly liked the way that golden wind ruffled her skirt. They didn't want to be looking down when her legs were shown, either. And it was good that they hadn't looked since her high heeled shoes revealed much more skin than Hilde's boots. The similarities between the outfits were blatant, and Hilde nodded. "For us girls, our outfits look the same with only a few differences - namely color. Mars is red, with fire based attacks, and Jupiter is green, wind and electric types. They can also heal, though, they just have to do it together."  
  
"Hilde here," Duo smirked, "is our best blocker. She has a cool shield she picked up that blocks attacks. It's just too bad it's pink."  
  
"I think it's pretty," Relena frowned, looking over at the boy.  
  
Smiling widely, Duo nodded. "I'm sure you do."  
  
"Well," Koenma commented, easing back in his seat. "This is interesting. How many of you are there aside from these two other girls?"  
  
"Three more," Kurama answered. "Nine altogether. The five remaining have offered to assist guarding the portal while we're gone."  
  
Koenma frowned, his pacifier bobbing thoughtfully. "Touya's coming for that."  
  
"True." Kurama gave a light shrug. "But having assistance would just make it safer. I didn't read the others, but if one of them is S class, they could come in quite useful. If we can get through the barrier, you know others could find a way over to stage a back attack on the portal."  
  
"Hm..." Looking between the four youths, Koenma sighed. "And in return they want to keep...them." His gaze had shifted to the two cats Duo was still holding. He raised an eyebrow when the felines continued watching him calmly. "Are they intelligent."  
  
"Depends on who you ask," Wing sniffed, shooting a look over to where Heero was standing.  
  
"Ah! Very good," Koenma smiled, looking at the cat. "And what are your other forms? Let's see them."  
  
"They can't shift," Kurama said. "That's why they want to go to the past with us - so they can prove themselves in the Makai. They're certain to recall their past forms if they spend time surrounded by demons." He didn't mention that he and Hiei had already given them impetus to recall those forms, by the way of direct contact and outright challenge.  
  
Koenma frowned in disappointment, settling down to rest his elbow on the desk. "I see. What about names? Do either of you have a record?"  
  
"If they do, they've forgotten," Kurama said, answering for them. He sent a sharp look at the white cat, hoping he caught the order to keep silent. "Their names are Wind and Shi-chan." Violet eyes blinked over at him, Duo frowning at the mistake.  
  
Duo started to correct the redhead, but a light touch from Heero stopped him. He didn't get a chance to wonder why Kurama had given Wing's name wrong. The moment Heero moved to him, that baby god jumped to his feet. Duo blinked wary eyes at him.  
  
"Amazing!" Koenma hopped out of his chair, crossing the room to stand directly in front of the pair. "No sense of energy at all. You, step back again!" Heero did, giving him a droll stare. "And it's full strength just like that. Does it work with all of you, or just you two?"  
  
"All of them," Kurama said, nodding to the godling. "If any one of them is physically apart, the energy is apparent. But the moment two or more are together, it masks itself. They don't notice since they don't feel reiki - or youki for that matter."  
  
"Not at all?" Koenma asked, blinking up at Duo in surprise. "So much power and you can't sense other energies?"  
  
"Well, no," Duo said slowly. "But I did feel something odd from those shards they were looking for. And Heero could see a glow from them that the rest of us couldn't. So I guess those are energies."  
  
"Very interesting, very. I'd love to keep your group here for tests some time," Koenma commented, turning back to his desk. "But there's too much to do right now. I'll take Kurama at his word for this one." He flicked a smirking glance at the redhead, noting how he stiffened, just a bit at being put on the spot. "I'll give the go for them helping, but it's still up to you to direct them. The ones staying here, though, we'll need some liaison so Touya's group can contact them if needed."  
  
"I'll get a communicator from Botan," Kurama nodded. "We'll leave it with the group staying in the town."  
  
"Better put Quatre in charge of it," Duo said, looking over at Heero. "Wufei isn't much of a people person, and Trowa's even worse than he is." The Japanese boy smirked and gave a slight nod in agreement.  
  
"I'll leave you to it, then," Koenma said sharply. He turned his attention to the papers on his desk, not looking up when until Kurama cleared his throat. "What? Is there more?"  
  
Obviously there wasn't, if Koenma was dismissing them that quickly. Kurama sighed. "No." Turning to the humans, he nodded them to the door. Hiei followed a few steps behind him, and he reminded himself to make them all turn back before they got into Botan's tunnel. It wouldn't do to be so close to them when they were exuding such energy.  
  
They met up with Botan outside the office, George straightening when they approached. The large demon squealed when he saw Duo and scurried into the office, slamming the door behind him. Duo sweatdropped. "What's up with him, anyway?" he asked, scowling at Kurama. The redhead gave him a benign smile.  
  
"It's the scythe," Kurama said. "There are many legends about beings with scythes, you know. None of them are good legends, and oni tend to be easily frightened - they aren't the bravest of youkai. You should shift back now." They did, the flickers of various lights making Botan's eyes widen from where she stood watching. He nodded to the girl and went over to get another communicator for the team staying behind. When he turned back, it was to find Heero frowning at him.  
  
"This girl," Heero said sharply, the frown making his voice tense. "Kagome. If her being injured causes complications, would it be worse to reveal your plan now than to go on without her?"  
  
"No," Kurama admitted, "but even if we were to reveal our intentions now, it wouldn't change her injury. I doubt she can travel, and it would be too dangerous to cart an invalid with us." He gave a sad smile. "She would slow us down."  
  
"But if she were healed, then it would be worth revealing everything now," Heero prodded. The redhead frowned at him for a long moment before turning to stare at Relena.  
  
"You," Kurama said softly, his wide eyes barely noting the way the girl looked suspiciously at him. "Do you think you could heal a broken bone?"  
  
"I don't see why not," Relena sniffed. "But if you expect me to tell Kagome about my powers, you're sorely mistaken. I do have a reputation to uphold in the school."  
  
Hilde winced, placing a light hand on her friend's shoulder. "But Relena, if we go with them, then Kagome will know anyway - whether she finds out now or later." The blonde girl froze, a sickly pale taking over her face. Hilde quickly smiled at her. "I'm sure Kagome won't tell anyone. After all, we know her secret - about why she's been absent so much this year. I doubt she'd break a pact if it meant she would be revealed as well."  
  
"But she doesn't have as much to lose," Relena said, her voice still faint at the thought of the entire school pointing and whispering about her. "She's been absent so much they already think she's dying. So what if they think she's insane as well? It's not like her friends would care about the gossip."  
  
"No more than yours would," Hilde said, beaming at the girl. "After all, your friends are just like you. And besides, if everyone thinks she's crazy right now, who would believe her if she spread wild tales about you?" That did the trick. She could practically see the confidence snap down around Relena.  
  
"No one would." Nodding sharply, Relena turned to give Kurama a bold look. "I'll heal her now, if you want."  
  
Kurama smiled, as if he hadn't just learned the way to manipulate the girl. "It's certainly worth a try, thank you. I doubt she'd go to the Makai at night, so I'll leave a message for her to let her know she'll be getting visitors tomorrow. In the morning would be best." He shot a quick look at the other humans. "Whether she can be healed or not, we need to get on with our plans. We'll be identifying the portal tomorrow, hopefully going through it immediately. You should expect to be away for days at the least. Food isn't a problem, but you'll want to bring packs with provisions you think might be needed - extra clothing, bedding."  
  
- - -  
  
TBC  
  
--notes--  
  
Anyone curious about Hiei's reaction to Duo's power, just remember how he reacted to Sensui, the only S class human in YYH. Hiei is full demon so he feels reiki more than Kurama does (in his human aspect) and S class energies give you the shivers if they're opposite your own (reiki vs youki), and especially if you're sensitive to reading energy (the GW gang don't read energies that way). There's a reason Kurama sort of 'blocks' it in this fic, but I'll get to that. ;p Expect IY characters in the next part or the one after - and read my prequel 'Exigency' to see where the IY characters come from. After IY is brought in, the focus of the fic will split in two - on the group in the past, and the one in the present. 


End file.
